


Quidditch Players and Lovers Read

by Ginnyrules27



Series: Quidditch Players and Lovers Read [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Characters Reading Harry Potter Books, Gen, Originally Posted on FanFiction.Net
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-03
Updated: 2020-12-19
Packaged: 2021-03-10 02:22:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 18
Words: 104,085
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27866810
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ginnyrules27/pseuds/Ginnyrules27
Summary: While trying to learn new plays for the year, the Gryffindor Quidditch team, Ron, Hermione, Cho and Cedric all are trapped in the locker room. Their purpose? To read a book. Will the locker room be left standing with the Twins in there? Read and find out
Series: Quidditch Players and Lovers Read [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2040181
Comments: 23
Kudos: 184





	1. Chapter 1

"We're going to train longer, stronger and faster," Wood said as he wrapped up his presentation. "Any questions?"

Just then, a flash of light filled the room and when it was cleared, Ron, Hermione, a Ravenclaw and a Hufflepuff were standing in the room. Wood quickly moved his slides in case the Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff stole the new plays he'd presented.

"I have a question Oliver," Harry said, jolting awake. "What just happened?"

Oliver seemed not to hear Harry's question; instead he was gaping at four other figures who were standing there as well. Harry looked at where Oliver was standing and saw…himself?

"See Hermione, I told you Oliver would be the first to notice," the older him said. "Cough it up."

The older Hermione handed the older Harry two gallons. "Last time I bet with you," she said with a smile.

"Who the—"

"—hell are you?" the twins asked. The other girl chuckled.

"Gred, Forge, I'm heart broken. You don't recognize your own sister?"

Ron, Fred and George gasped. The older Ginny was wearing Quidditch robes and had her wand out. In fact, all of them had their wands out; looking around as if they were expecting to be attacked. 

"Okay, so we can't stay long," said the older Ron. "But if you haven't guessed by now, we're from the future. Fifth year as a matter of fact."

"Hell of a year." Older Harry muttered under his breath.

"Yeah, yeah Harry, we get it. You hate the toad. We all do. " Ginny rolled her eyes. "The point is we found some books that we'd like you all to read."

"Even us?" the Ravenclaw asked.

"Yes Cho. You and Cedric," here the Older Harry pointed to the Puff, "will need to read these too as they also affect your future."

With that, another burst of light filled the room and when it was gone, seven books were in the places of the future visitors. Harry looked over at Ron.

"Got any food? I'm starving."

Ron chuckled and handed some food to Harry. "Here mate, have some toast."

Oliver picked up the smallest book and said, "I guess we're reading. I've already tried the door. We're stuck."

"Who wants to read first?" Katie asked.

"I will," Oliver said. "We'll go by who's been on the team longest."

He cleared his throat. "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. Hey, this is about your first year."

"Yeah, now read." Ron said with a chuckle. "I'd like to leave this locker room this _year_." 

**The Boy Who Lived**

"Harry!" Fred and George yelled. Ron and Hermione grinned while Harry groaned. Angelina rolled her eyes at the two while Katie wondered how old the twins really were.

"Will you let me read?" Oliver asked.

"Sure Oliver"

**Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive,**

"Who?" Katie asked.

"My aunt and uncle," Harry muttered.

"That address sounds familiar doesn't it Gred?" 

"It does indeed Forge." 

**were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much. They were the last people you'd expect to be involved in anything strange or mysterious, because they just didn't hold with such nonsense.**

**Mr. Dursley was the director of a firm called Grunnings, which made drills.**

"What's a drill?" everyone but Harry, Hermione and Katie asked. Those three ignored them.

"Look it up Ronald," Hermione smiled at the red head.

**He was a big, beefy man with hardly any neck, although he did have a very large mustache. Mrs. Dursley was thin and blonde and had nearly twice the usual amount of neck,** **which came in very useful as she spent so much of her time craning over garden fences, spying on the neighbors.**

**The Dursleys had a small son called Dudley and in their opinion there was no finer boy anywhere.**

Harry's eyes burst open and he started laughing. Everyone started giving him odd looks.

"Umm? Mate?" Ron asked.

"Dudley is to small as Ron is to never hungry," Harry gasped out. Some of them—Cho, Hermione, and the twins—laughed as well.

**The Dursleys had everything they wanted, but they also had a secret, and their greatest fear was that somebody would discover it. They didn't think they could bear it if anyone found out about the Potters.**

"There's nothing wrong with the Potters," Cedric growled. They were war heroes for Merlin's sake! 

**Mrs. Potter was Mrs. Dursley's sister,** **but they hadn't met for several years; in fact, Mrs. Dursley pretended she didn't have a sister,because her sister and her good-for-nothing husband were as unDursleyish**

"Not a word," Cho and Hermione said as one.

**as it was possible to be. The Dursleys shuddered to think what the neighbors would say if the Potters arrived in the street.**

"THAT WOULD BE AWESOME!" the twins shouted

"If that happened, I wouldn't be living there," Harry muttered.

**The Dursleys knew that the Potters had a small son, too, but they had never even seen him. This boy was another good reason for keeping the Potters away; they didn't want Dudley mixing with a child like that.**

"A child like what?" Katie asked. From all the time she spent with Harry, she thought he was a good kid. I mean sure there was that time he lost Gryffindor 150 points but still...

**When Mr. and Mrs. Dursley woke up on the dull, gray Tuesday our story starts, there was nothing about the cloudy sky outside to suggest that strange and mysterious things would soon be happening all over the country. Mr. Dursley hummed as he picked out his most boring tie for work, and Mrs. Dursley gossiped away happily as she wrestled a screaming Dudley into his high chair.**

"Boring," called out all the students. Yes, even Oliver.

**None of them noticed a large, tawny owl flutter past the window.**

**At half past eight, Mr. Dursley picked up his briefcase, pecked Mrs. Dursley on the cheek, and tried to kiss Dudley good-bye but missed, because Dudley was now having a tantrum and throwing his cereal at the walls.**

"Brat."

" **Little tyke," chortled Mr. Dursley as he left the house. He got into his car and backed out of number four's drive.**

**It was on the corner of the street that he noticed the first sign of something peculiar — a cat reading a map.**

"I wonder why McGonagall was there," Harry leaned in and muttered to Ron.

"Mate, you're asking the wrong friend."

 **For a second, Mr. Dursley didn't realize what he had seen — then he jerked his head around to look again. There was a tabby cat standing on the corner of Privet Drive, but there wasn't a map in sight. What could he have been thinking of? It must have been a trick of the light.** **Mr. Dursley blinked and stared at the cat. It stared back. As Mr. Dursley drove around the corner and up the road, he watched the cat in his mirror. It was now reading the sign that said Privet Drive — no,** _ **looking**_ **at the sign; cats couldn't read maps** _ **or**_ **signs.**

"Sweet Merlin— "

"—The git can think!" The twins yelled.

**Mr. Dursley gave himself a little shake and put the cat out of his mind. As he drove toward town he thought of nothing except a large order of drills he was hoping to get that day.**

**But on the edge of town, drills were driven out of his mind by something else. As he sat in the usual morning traffic jam, he couldn't help noticing that there seemed to be a lot of strangely dressed people about. People in cloaks.**

"Apparently secrets mean nothing," Cho shook her head as she rolled her eyes.

**Mr. Dursley couldn't bear people who dressed in funny clothes — the getups you saw on young people! He supposed this was some stupid new fashion. He drummed his fingers on the steering wheel and his eyes fell on a huddle of these weirdoes standing quite close by. They were whispering excitedly . Dursley was enraged to see that a couple of them weren't young at all; why, that man had to be older than he was, and wearing an emerald-green cloak! The nerve of him! But then it struck Mr. Dursley that this was probably some silly stunt —these people were obviously collecting for something… yes, that would be it.**

"Idiot"

**The traffic moved on and a few minutes later, Mr. Dursley arrived in the Grunnings parking lot, his mind back on drills.**

**Mr. Dursley always sat with his back to the window in his office on the ninth floor. If he hadn't, he might have found it harder to concentrate on drills that morning.** _**He** _ **didn't see the owls swooping past in broad daylight, though people down in the street did; they pointed and gazed open-mouthed as owl after owl sped overhead.**

Oliver, Cho, Cedric and Alicia looked confused. "Owls aren't that odd."

Harry chuckled when Katie said, "Well Owls in the Muggle world only come out at night."

Everyone looked at her. "How do you know that," Oliver asked.

"I'm a half blood Oliver. My mum's muggle."

**Most of them had never seen an owl even at nighttime. Mr. Dursley, however, had a perfectly normal, owl-free morning. He yelled at five different people. He made several important telephone calls and shouted a bit more.**

"Isn't he a pleasant bloke," Ron said sarcastically.

**He was in a very good mood until lunchtime, when he thought he'd stretch his legs and walk across the road to buy himself a bun from the bakery.**

Harry almost growled at the book. He hated the Dursleys with every fiber of his being.

**He'd forgotten all about the people in cloaks until he passed a group of them next to the baker's. He eyed them angrily as he passed. He didn't know why, but they made him uneasy.**

**This bunch were whispering excitedly, too, and he couldn't see a single collecting tin. It was on his way back past them, clutching a large doughnut in a bag, that he caught a few words of what they were saying.**

" **The Potters, that's right, that's what I heard —"**

" — **yes, their son, Harry —"**

Cho gasped. Cedric looked at her, and she leaned in. "You don't think we're reading about _that_ day do you?"

**Mr. Dursley stopped dead.** **Fear flooded him. He looked back at the whisperers as if he wanted to say something to them, but thought better of it.** **He dashed back across the road, hurried up to his office, snapped at his secretary not to disturb him, seized his telephone,** **and had almost finished dialing his home number when he changed his mind. He put the receiver back down and stroked his mustache, thinking… no, he was being stupid.**

"Got that right" Harry muttered.

**Potter wasn't such an unusual name. He was sure there were lots of people called Potter who had a son called Harry. Come to think of it, he wasn't even sure his nephew** _**was** _ **called 'd never even seen the boy. It might have been Harvey. Or Harold.**

"Harvey Potter?" Fred asked.

"Harry has a better ring to it." George said.

**There was no point in worrying Mrs. Dursley; she always got so upset at any mention of her sister. He didn't blame her — if** _**he'd** _ **had a sister like that…** **but all the same, those people in cloaks…He found it a lot harder to concentrate on drills that afternoon and when he left the building at five o'clock, he was still so worried that he walked straight into someone just outside the door.**

"Is the bloke still alive?" Harry asked.

" **Sorry," he grunted, as the tiny old man stumbled and almost fell.**

Harry almost saw red. His uncle could apologize to a random stranger but couldn't even treat a young boy with respect.

**It was a few seconds before Mr. Dursley realized that the man was wearing a violet cloak. He didn't seem at all upset at being almost knocked to the ground. On the contrary, his face split into a wide smile and he said in a squeaky voice that made passersby stare, "Don't be sorry, my dear sir, for nothing could upset me today! Rejoice, for You-Know-Who has gone at last!**

"And he won't be back!" Oliver nodded.

Harry leaned over to Hermione and Ron. "That's what they think."

**Even Muggles like yourself should be celebrating, this happy, happy day!"**

**And the old man hugged Mr. Dursley around the middle and walked off.**

Harry's jaw dropped. "If I was wondering if he was magical before this, my doubts are gone," he muttered.

**Mr. Dursley stood rooted to the spot. He had been hugged by a complete stranger. He also thought he had been called a Muggle, whatever that was. He was rattled. He hurried to his car and set off for home, hoping he was imagining things, which he had never hoped before, because he didn't approve of imagination.**

Harry made a face at this. Imagination was what allowed him to survive the Dursley's.

**As he pulled into the driveway of number four, the first thing he saw—and it didn't improve his mood — was the tabby cat he'd spotted that morning.**

**It was now sitting on his garden wall. He was sure it was the same one; it had the same markings around its eyes.**

" **Shoo!" said Mr. Dursley loudly.**

"Not going to work" the twins smirked.

**The cat didn't move. It just gave him a stern look.**

"McGonagall, it's got to be," Ron said, shaking his head.

**Was this normal cat behavior? Mr. Dursley wondered. Trying to pull himself together, he let himself into the house. He was still determined not to mention anything to his wife.**

**Mrs. Dursley had had a nice, normal day. She told him over dinner all about Mrs. Next Door's problems with her daughter and how Dudley had learned a new word ("Won't!").**

Harry shook his head in utter disgust. Seemed like his cousin was _always_ a brat. 

**Mr. Dursley tried to act normally. When Dudley had been put to bed, he went into the living room in time to catch the last report on the evening news:**

" _ **And finally, bird-watchers everywhere have reported that the nation's owls have been behaving very unusually today. Although owls normally hunt at night and are hardly ever seen in daylight, there have been hundreds of sightings of these birds flying in every direction since sunrise. Experts are unable to explain why the owls have suddenly changed their sleeping pattern." The newscaster allowed himself a grin. "Most mysterious. And now, over to Jim McGuffin with the weather. Going to be any more showers of owls tonight, Jim?"**_

"You don't think—"

"—he was a squib?" the twins asked.

"What's a squib?" Harry asked.

"Opposite to a muggle born," Ron told him.

" _ **Well, Ted," said the weatherman, "I don't know about that, but it's not only the owls that have been acting oddly today. Viewers as far apart as Kent, Yorkshire, and Dundee have been phoning in to tell me that instead of the rain I promised yesterday, they've had a downpour of shooting stars! Perhaps people have been celebrating Bonfire Night early — it's not until next week, folks! But I can promise a wet night tonight."**_

**Mr. Dursley sat frozen in his armchair. Shooting stars all over Britain? Owls flying by daylight? Mysterious people in cloaks all over the place? And a whisper, a whisper about the Potters…Mrs. Dursley came into the living room carrying two cups of tea. It was no good. He'd have to say something to her. He cleared his throat nervously. "Er — Petunia, dear — you haven't heard from your sister lately, have you?"As he had expected, Mrs. Dursley looked shocked and angry. After all, they normally pretended she didn't have a sister.**

Harry rolled his eyes. "And I often pretend I'm not related to you. Doesn't change anything."

" **No," she said sharply. "Why?"**

" **Funny stuff on the news," Mr. Dursley mumbled. "Owls… shooting stars… and there were a lot of funny-looking people in town today…"**

" _ **So?**_ **" snapped Mrs. Dursley.**

" **Well, I just thought… maybe… it was something to do with… you know…** _ **her**_ **crowd."**

"Her Crowd?" everyone but Harry asked.

"Just ignore them, they'll be like that for the rest of the book," Harry told them. Surprisingly, it didn't calm them down.

**Mrs. Dursley sipped her tea through pursed lips. Mr. Dursley wondered whether he dared tell her he'd heard the name "Potter." He decided he didn't dare. Instead he said, as casually as he could, "Their son — he'd be about Dudley's age now, wouldn't he?"**

" **I suppose so," said Mrs. Dursley stiffly.**

" **What's his name again? Howard, isn't it?"**

" **Harry. Nasty, common name, if you ask me."**

"It's a great name," Cho sniffed.

"And it's a family name." Cedric said, glaring at the book.

Harry leaned over at Ron. "It's scary, he knows more about you than you do," Ron whispered.

"Who doesn't?" Harry replied.

" **Oh, yes," said Mr. Dursley, his heart sinking horribly. "Yes, I quite agree."**

**He didn't say another word on the subject as they went upstairs to bed. While Mrs. Dursley was in the bathroom, Mr. Dursley crept to the bedroom window and peered down into the front garden. The cat was still there. It was staring down Privet Drive as though it were waiting for something.**

**Was he imagining things? Could all this have anything to do with the Potters? If it did… if it got out that they were related to a pair of — well, he didn't think he could bear it.**

"This guy is insane," Angelina said with a huff.

**The Dursleys got into bed. Mrs. Dursley fell asleep quickly but Mr. Dursley lay awake, turning it all over in his mind. His last, comforting thought before he fell asleep was that even if the Potters** _**were** _ **involved, there was no reason for them to come near him and Mrs. Dursley. The Potters knew very well what he and Petunia thought about them and their kind… He couldn't see how he and Petunia could get mixed up in anything that might be going on — he yawned and turned over — it couldn't affect** _**them** _ **…**

**How very wrong he was.**

"Oh joy!" Oliver was happy to hear about something going wrong in these muggles' lives.

**Mr. Dursley might have been drifting into an uneasy sleep, but the cat on the wall outside was showing no sign of sleepiness.**

"Wonder why?" Ron said dryly.

**It was sitting as still as a statue, its eyes fixed unblinkingly on the far corner of Privet Drive. It didn't so much as quiver when a car door slammed on the next street, nor when two owls swooped overhead. In fact, it was nearly midnight before the cat moved at all.**

**A man appeared on the corner the cat had been watching, appeared so suddenly and silently you'd have thought he'd just popped out of the ground. The cat's tail twitched and its eyes narrowed.**

"Oh no, McGonagall's mad," the twins warned. "We'd best be on our way."

"She's not here idiots," Ron shook his head.

"Oh, yeah!"

**Nothing like this man had ever been seen on Privet Drive. He was tall, thin, and very old, judging by the silver of his hair and beard, which were both long enough to tuck into his belt. He was wearing long robes, a purple cloak that swept the ground, and high-heeled, buckled boots. His blue eyes were light, bright, and sparkling behind half-moon spectacles and his nose was very long and crooked, as though it had been broken at least twice.**

Everyone chuckled at the mention of their headmaster.

**This man's name was Albus Dumbledore**

"No! Really, I thought it was Snape!" Hermione scoffed.

**Albus Dumbledore didn't seem to realize that he had just arrived in a street where everything from his name to his boots was unwelcome.**

"Would he care?" Harry asked.

"Probably not." Ron shrugged.

**He was busy rummaging in his cloak, looking for something. But he did seem to realize he was being watched, because he looked up suddenly at the cat, which was still staring at him from the other end of the street. For some reason, the sight of the cat seemed to amuse him. He chuckled and muttered, "I should have known."**

**He found what he was looking for in his inside pocket. It seemed to be a silver cigarette lighter. He flicked it open, held it up in the air, and clicked it. The nearest street lamp went out with a little pop.**

"That's awesome!" Ron shouted.

"I want one!" Fred and George said at the same time.

**He clicked it again — the next lamp flickered into darkness. Twelve times he clicked the Put-Outer, until the only lights left on the whole street were two tiny pinpricks in the distance, which were the eyes of the cat watching him. If anyone looked out of their window now, even beady-eyed Mrs. Dursley, they wouldn't be able to see anything that was happening down on the pavement. Dumbledore slipped the Put-Outer back inside his cloak and set off down the street toward number four, where he sat down on the wall next to the cat. He didn't look at it, but after a moment he spoke to it.**

" **Fancy seeing you here, Professor McGonagall."**

"Yes! I knew it!" Alicia cheered.

"No one disagreed with you." Harry said with a smirk.

**He turned to smile at the tabby, but it had gone. Instead he was smiling at a rather severe-looking woman who was wearing square glasses exactly the shape of the markings the cat had had around its eyes. She, too, was wearing a cloak, an emerald one. Her black hair was drawn into a tight bun. She looked distinctly ruffled. "How did you know it was me?" she asked.**

" **My dear Professor, I've never seen a cat sit so stiffly."**

The boys snickered and Hermione giggled. Even though she liked her professor, she still found it funny.

" **You'd be stiff if you'd been sitting on a brick wall all day," said Professor McGonagall.**

" **All day? When you could have been celebrating? I must have passed a dozen feasts and parties on my way here."**

**Professor McGonagall sniffed angrily.**

"RUN!" the twins shouted.

"They would know," Angelina said with a shake of her head.

" **Oh yes, everyone's celebrating, all right," she said impatiently. "You'd think they'd be a bit more careful, but no — even the Muggles have noticed something's going on. It was on their news."**

"I agree with her." Cho decided.

**She jerked her head back at the Dursleys' dark living-room window. "I heard it. Flocks of owls… shooting stars… Well, they're not completely stupid. They were bound to notice something. Shooting stars down in Kent — I'll bet that was Dedalus Diggle. He never had much sense."**

"Dad knows him." Cedric shook his head. "He shares the same opinion."

" **You can't blame them," said Dumbledore gently. "We've had precious little to celebrate for eleven years."**

"Sweet Merlin, it lasted that long?" Ron whistled.

" **I know that," said Professor McGonagall irritably. "But that's no reason to lose our heads. People are being downright careless, out on the streets in broad daylight, not even dressed in Muggle clothes, swapping rumors."**

**She threw a sharp, sideways glance at Dumbledore here, as though hoping he was going to tell her something, but he didn't, so she went on. "A fine thing it would be if, on the very day You-Know-Who seems to have disappeared at last, the Muggles found out about us all. I suppose he really** _**has** _ **gone, Dumbledore?"**

" **It certainly seems so," said Dumbledore.**

Harry rolled his eyes. He didn't call what he saw last year as Voldemort being gone.

**We have much to be thankful for. Would you care for a lemon drop?"**

"A what?" Alicia asked.

" **A** _ **what**_ **?"**

" **A lemon drop. They're a kind of Muggle sweet I'm rather fond of."**

"Dumbledore," everyone shook their heads in amusement.

" **No, thank you," said Professor McGonagall coldly, as though she didn't think this was the moment for lemon drops. "As I say, even if You-Know-Who** _ **has**_ **gone —"**

" **My dear Professor, surely a sensible person like yourself can call him by his name? All this 'You-Know-Who' nonsense — for eleven years I have been trying to persuade people to call him by his proper name:** _ **Voldemort**_ **."**

"Oh please, it's just a name." Harry rolled his eyes as everyone else flinched.

**Professor McGonagall flinched, but Dumbledore, who was unsticking two lemon drops, seemed not to notice. "It all gets so confusing if we keep saying 'You-Know-Who.' I have never seen any reason to be frightened of saying Voldemort's name."**

"Fear of a name—"

"Don't Harry." Ron interrupted. "Save it alright?"

**"I know you haven't," said Professor McGonagall, sounding half exasperated, half admiring. "But you're different. Everyone knows you're the only one You-Know- oh, all right,** _**Voldemort** _ **, was frightened of."**

" **You flatter me," said Dumbledore calmly. "Voldemort had powers I will never have."**

"Yeah well he's just too noble to use them!" Hermione said.

" **Only because you're too — well —** _ **noble**_ **to use them."**

Ron chuckled. "You're like McGonagall Hermione."

"There are worse people to be like," Hermione said.

Harry nodded. "Yeah, she could be like Snape."

**It's lucky it's dark. I haven't blushed so much since Madam Pomfrey told me she liked my new earmuffs."**

**Professor McGonagall shot a sharp look at Dumbledore and said, "The owls are nothing next to the** _**rumors** _ **that are flying around. You know what they're saying? About why he's disappeared? About what finally stopped him?"**

"Do we have to hear about this?" Harry asked. He had caught on about what they were reading, after all Aunt Petunia once went on a rant about how November 1st always brought the freaks out. 

**It seemed that Professor McGonagall had reached the point she was most anxious to discuss, the real reason she had been waiting on a cold, hard wall all day, for neither as a cat nor as a woman had she fixed Dumbledore with such a piercing stare as she did now. It was plain that whatever "everyone" was saying, she was not going to believe it until Dumbledore told her it was true. Dumbledore, however, was choosing another lemon drop and did not answer.**

" **What they're** _ **saying**_ **," she pressed on, "is that last night Voldemort turned up in Godric's Hollow. He went to find the Potters.**

Harry groaned. He really didn't want to hear about what happened that night. His parents were dead; that's all he cared to know.

**The rumor is that Lily and James Potter are — are — that they're —** _**dead** _ **."**

Everyone bowed their heads in memory of the last two victims of Voldemort—or so they thought.

**Dumbledore bowed his head. Professor McGonagall gasped.**

" **Lily and James… I can't believe it… I didn't want to believe it… Oh, Albus…"**

**Dumbledore reached out and patted her on the shoulder. "I know… I know…" he said heavily.**

"And him"

**Professor McGonagall's voice trembled as she went on. "That's not all. They're saying he tried to kill the Potter's son, Harry.**

Everyone growled at the book, but seeing Harry by them in his Quidditch robes calmed them down a bit.

"They're scary," he muttered to himself.

**But he couldn't. He couldn't kill that little boy. No one knows why, or how, but they're saying that when he couldn't kill Harry Potter, Voldemort's power somehow broke — and that's why he's gone."**

"You're awesome, you know that?" Ron laughed.

**Dumbledore nodded glumly.**

" **It's — it's** _ **true**_ **?" faltered Professor McGonagall. "After all he's done… all the people he's killed… he couldn't kill a little boy? It's just astounding… of all the things to stop him… but how in the name of heaven did Harry survive?"**

" **We can only guess." said Dumbledore. "We may never know."**

"I really don't want to know," Harry muttered.

**Professor McGonagall pulled out a lace handkerchief and dabbed at her eyes beneath her spectacles. Dumbledore gave a great sniff as he took a golden watch from his pocket and examined it. It was a very odd watch. It had twelve hands but no numbers; instead, little planets were moving around the edge. It must have made sense to Dumbledore, though, because he put it back in his pocket and said, "Hagrid's late. I suppose it was he who told you I'd be here, by the way?"**

"I would trust Hagrid with my life," Harry said.

"Me too." Ron and Hermione nodded their heads.

" **Yes," said Professor McGonagall. "And I don't suppose you're going to tell me** _ **why**_ **you're here, of all places?"**

" **I've come to bring Harry to his aunt and uncle. They're the only family he has left now."**

"Damn it," Harry said. Everyone looked at him in shock. First of all: he just swore. Second of all: that meant that he and his family didn't get along all that well.

"Harry! Language!" Hermione scolded.

" **You don't mean – you** _ **can't**_ **mean the people who live** _ **here**_ **?" cried Professor McGonagall, jumping to her feet and pointing at number four. "Dumbledore — you can't. I've been watching them all day. You couldn't find two people who are less like us. And they've got this son — I saw him kicking his mother all the way up the street, screaming for sweets. Harry Potter come and live here!"**

"Come on Dumbledore, listen to her!" Harry muttered but he knew it wouldn't do any good. He still lived there after all.

" **It's the best place for him," said Dumbledore firmly. "His aunt and uncle will be able to explain everything to him when he's older. I've written them a letter."**

"A letter?" Oliver asked in shock. "Oh yes. 'Dear Mrs. Dursley, I'm sorry to say that your sister has been killed yet your nephew lived. Please look after the savior of our world.' You think that all could be explained in a letter?"

" **A letter?" repeated Professor McGonagall faintly, sitting back down on the wall. "Really, Dumbledore, you think you can explain all this in a letter?**

"Now Wood's like McGonagall," Harry muttered to Fred.

**These people will never understand him! He'll be famous — a legend — I wouldn't be surprised if today was known as Harry Potter day in the future — there will be books written about Harry — every child in our world will know his name!"**

"Might I just add that I hate that!" Harry said with a scowl. "Nor do I like people staring at me every minute of every day."

" **Exactly." said Dumbledore, looking very seriously over the top of his half-moon glasses. "It would be enough to turn any boy's head. Famous before he can walk and talk! Famous for something he won't even remember! Can you see how much better off he'll be, growing up away from all that until he's ready to take it?"**

"Ugh. At least I'm not a mini-Malfoy," Harry muttered to himself.

**Professor McGonagall opened her mouth, changed her mind, swallowed, and then said, "Yes — yes, you're right, of course. But how is the boy getting here, Dumbledore?" She eyed his cloak suddenly as though she thought he might be hiding Harry underneath it.**

"Ugh, bad mental images!" the twins shouted. Everyone chuckled.

" **Hagrid's bringing him."**

" **You think it —** _ **wise**_ **— to trust Hagrid with something as important as this?"**

" **I would trust Hagrid with my life," said Dumbledore.**

**I'm not saying his heart isn't in the right place," said Professor McGonagall grudgingly, "but you can't pretend he's not careless. He does tend to — what was that?"**

**A low rumbling sound had broken the silence around them. It grew steadily louder as they looked up and down the street for some sign of a headlight; it swelled to a roar as they both looked up at the sky — and a huge motorcycle fell out of the air and landed on the road in front of them.**

"That's so cool." Cedric said.

"Nah," Harry yawned. "I think flying cars are cooler."

Ron and the twins snorted in unison.

**If the motorcycle was huge, it was nothing to the man sitting astride it. He was almost twice as tall as a normal man and at least five times as wide. He looked simply too big to be allowed, and so** _**wild** _ **— long tangles of bushy black hair and beard hid most of his face, he had hands the size of trash can lids, and his feet in their leather boots were like baby dolphins. In his vast, muscular arms he was holding a bundle of blankets.**

" **Hagrid," said Dumbledore, sounding relieved. "At last. And where did you get that motorcycle?"**

" **Borrowed it, Professor Dumbledore, sir," said the giant, climbing carefully off the motorcycle as he spoke. "Young Sirius Black lent it to me. I've got him, sir."**

The faces of those raised in the Wizarding world darkened. Even Cedric's, who thought that Black had gotten too light a sentence.

" **No problems, were there?"**

" **No, sir — house was almost destroyed, but I got him out all right before the Muggles started swarmin' around. He fell asleep as we was flyin' over Bristol."**

"Aw," Cho and Katie cooed.

Oliver and the twins chuckled at Harry's red face. "Don't worry Harry," Oliver said. "The chapter's almost over."

**Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall bent forward over the bundle of blankets. Inside, just visible, was a baby boy, fast asleep. Under a tuft of jet-black hair over his forehead they could see a curiously shaped cut, like a bolt of lightning.**

" **Is that where —?" whispered Professor McGonagall.**

" **Yes," said Dumbledore. "He'll have that scar forever."**

"Did I mention that—"

"We know Harry," Hermione piped up. "You hate your scar."

" **Couldn't you do something about it, Dumbledore?"**

"I wish." Harry muttered. If he could just hide it some how.

" **Even if I could, I wouldn't. Scars can come in handy. I have one myself above my left knee that is a perfect map of the London Underground. Well — give him here, Hagrid — we'd better get this over with."**

"You really think he's got that scar?" Cho asked.

"I hate my scar," Harry muttered. "It's a menace, not useful at all."

**Dumbledore took Harry in his arms and turned toward the Dursleys' house.**

" **Could I — could I say good-bye to him, sir?" asked Hagrid. He bent his great, shaggy head over Harry and gave him what must have been a very scratchy, whiskery kiss. Then, suddenly, Hagrid let out a howl like a wounded dog.**

"Aww." The girls cooed.

" **Shhh!" hissed Professor McGonagall, "You'll wake the Muggles!"**

" **S-s-sorry," sobbed Hagrid, taking out a large, spotted handkerchief and burying his face in it. "But I c-c-can't stand it —Lily an' James dead — an' poor little Harry off ter live with Muggles —"**

"Aw, Hagrid likes you," Alicia cooed.

"Who doesn't he like?" Harry asked, his face turning red but he smiled at the thought.

"Malfoy." Ron piped up.

" **Yes, yes, it's all very sad, but get a grip on yourself, Hagrid, or we'll be found," Professor McGonagall whispered, patting Hagrid gingerly on the arm as Dumbledore stepped over the low garden wall and walked to the front door. He laid Harry gently on the doorstep, took a letter out of his cloak, tucked it inside Harry's blankets, and then came back to the other two.**

"A doorstep?" Harry scoffed. "I'd been safer in the bushes."

**For a full minute the three of them stood and looked at the little bundle; Hagrid's shoulders shook, Professor McGonagall blinked furiously, and the twinkling light that usually shone from Dumbledore's eyes seemed to have gone out.**

"That's not good," Cho whispered.

" **Well," said Dumbledore finally, "that's that. We've no business staying here. We may as well go and join the celebrations."**

" **Yeah," said Hagrid in a very muffled voice, "I best get this bike away. G'night, Professor McGonagall — Professor Dumbledore, sir."**

**Wiping his streaming eyes on his jacket sleeve, Hagrid swung himself onto the motorcycle and kicked the engine into life; with a roar it rose into the air and off into the night.**

" **I shall see you soon, I expect, Professor McGonagall," said Dumbledore, nodding to her. Professor McGonagall blew her nose in reply.**

**Dumbledore turned and walked back down the street. On the corner he stopped and took out the silver Put-Outer. He clicked it once and twelve balls of light sped back to their street lamps so that Privet Drive glowed suddenly orange and he could make out a tabby cat slinking around the corner at the other end of the street. He could just see the bundle of blankets on the step of number four.**

" **Good luck, Harry," he murmured. He turned on his heel and with a swish of his cloak, he was gone.**

"I needed it, for sure." Harry muttered.

**A breeze ruffled the neat hedges of Privet Drive, which lay silent and tidy under the inky sky, the very last place you would expect astonishing things to happen. Harry Potter rolled over inside his blankets without waking up. One small hand closed on the letter beside him and he slept on, not knowing he was special, not knowing he was famous, not knowing he would be woken in a few hours' time by Mrs. Dursley's scream as she opened the front door to put out the milk bottles, nor that he would spend the next few weeks being prodded and pinched by his cousin Dudley… He couldn't know that at this very moment, people meeting in secret all over the country were holding up their glasses and saying in hushed voices: "To Harry Potter — the boy who lived!"**

"Alright, that's the end of the chapter." Oliver said. "Here, Angelina. You're next."

"Great." she smiled. "The next chapter's called The Vanishing Glass."


	2. Chapter 2

" **The Vanishing Glass,** " Angelina read.

**Nearly ten years had passed since the Dursleys had woken up to find their nephew on the front step, but Privet Drive had hardly changed at all.**

"That sounds right boring mate," Fred said with a shudder.

**The sun rose on the same tidy front gardens and lit up the brass number four on the Dursleys' front door; it crept into their living room, which was almost exactly the same as it had been on the night when Mr. Dursley had seen that fateful news report about the owls. Only the photographs on the mantelpiece really showed how much time had passed. Ten years ago, there had been lots of pictures of what looked like a large pink beach ball wearing different-colored bonnets — but Dudley Dursley was no longer a baby, and now the photographs showed a large blond boy riding his first bicycle, on a carousel at the fair, playing a computer game with his father, being hugged and kissed by his mother. The room held no sign at all that another boy lived in the house, too.**

The girls on the Gryffindor Quidditch team glared at the book. Even thought they'd only known Harry for a year, they considered him to be like a little brother. No one deserved to have a home like that.

Harry sighed. He didn't want time spent on his home life. It sucked, he knew it, and that was it. No one could change it so why bother?

**Yet Harry Potter was still there, asleep at the moment, but not for long. His Aunt Petunia was awake and it was her shrill voice that made the first noise of the day.**

" **Up! Get up! Now!"**

"If we ever go over to your house mate—" Fred began.

"Like you did this summer?" Harry asked.

"Yeah, but on much more fun circumstances, we are _so_ pranking one of your relatives." George finished.

**Harry woke with a start. His aunt rapped on the door again.**

" **Up!" she screeched. Harry heard her walking toward the kitchen and then the sound of the frying pan being put on the stove. He rolled onto his back and tried to remember the dream he had been having. It had been a good one. There had been a flying motorcycle in it. He had a funny feeling he'd had the same dream before.**

"Now where's this memory in class?" Hermione teased.

"Asleep." Harry said with a grin. "You get us up too darn early."

**His aunt was back outside the door.**

"Go away foul woman!" Fred shouted.

" **Are you up yet?" she demanded.**

" **Nearly," said Harry.**

" **Well, get a move on, I want you to look after the bacon. And don't you dare let it burn, I want everything perfect on Duddy's birthday."**

Everyone stared at the book for a minute as if they wanted to make sure they had heard Angelina correctly and then began to laugh.

"Duddy?" Katie asked.

"Yeah." Harry said through his laughter. "Just wait. It gets better."

**Harry groaned.**

" **What did you say?" his aunt snapped through the door.**

"He groaned. That's technically not saying anything," Cho sniffed.

" **Nothing, nothing…"**

**Dudley's birthday — how could he have forgotten? Harry got slowly out of bed and started looking for socks. He found a pair under his bed and, after pulling a spider**

Ron shuddered at the mention of the spider. Fred noticed this and felt a twinge of guilt that a prank he played when Ron was three had such long lasting effects. He wasn't mean, and he loved his brother. Was there a way to make it up to him?

**off one of them, put them on. Harry was used to spiders, because the cupboard under the stairs was full of them, and that was where he slept.**

There was dead silence in the locker room. Nobody trusted themselves to speak. Well, except Ron.

"They made you sleep in a cupboard?" he asked Harry, a tone of angry disbelief audible.

That was the trigger to cause the others to explode in anger.

"How dare they!" Katie shouted.

Fred and George could be seen plotting with looks on their faces that promised a lot of pranking.

"Look guys, it's no big deal," Harry said and stopped as everyone turned to look at him.

"No big deal?" Oliver asked, his voice faint though whether it was from shock or fury no one knew. "Harry, they made you sleep in a _cupboard_."

"Well, I'm not there anymore so just drop it." Harry said forcefully. Everyone did, but knew that they weren't going to drop the issue.

**When he was dressed he went down the hall into the kitchen. The table was almost hidden beneath all Dudley's birthday presents. It looked as though Dudley had gotten the new computer he wanted, not to mention the second television and the racing bike.**

"Err, the what?" Fred asked.

"Muggle things." Katie told him.

**Exactly why Dudley wanted a racing bike was a mystery to Harry, as Dudley was very fat and hated exercise — unless of course it involved punching somebody.**

Angelina almost growled as she read this. There had to be someway to get Harry out of that house.

"I hope it wasn't you." Cedric told the younger boy.

"Keep reading," Harry told them.

**Dudley's favorite punching bag was Harry, but he couldn't often catch him. Harry didn't look it, but he was very fast**.

Katie and Alicia smiled at that, along with everyone else. It wasn't fair that Harry should have to run from his family, but it was nice that he wasn't harmed by them.

**Perhaps it had something to do with living in a dark cupboard, but Harry had always been small and skinny for his age.**

"So nothing new then?" George asked with a chuckle.

"You know it's scientifically proven in the Muggle world that small people live longer than tall people," Katie said with a glare.

"Really?" Harry asked.

"Yep."

Cedric turned to Oliver and said "Pay up."

"Never bet with a Puff," he told the team as he handed Cedric three gallons.

**He looked even smaller and skinnier than he really was because all he had to wear were old clothes of Dudley's, and Dudley was about four times bigger than he was. Harry had a thin face, knobby knees, black hair,** **and bright green eyes.** **He wore round glasses held together with a lot of Scotch tape because of all the times Dudley had punched him on the nose. The only thing Harry liked about his own appearance was a very thin scar on his forehead that was shaped like a bolt of lightning.**

"You liked your scar?" Ron asked in amazement.

"It made me different."

"But—"

"I know. Move on."

**He had had it as long as he could remember, and the first question he could ever remember asking his Aunt Petunia was how he had gotten it.**

" **In the car crash when your parents died," she had said.**

"A car crash? That couldn't kill one of us, never mind Lily and James Potter," Katie scoffed.

" **And don't ask questions."**

"But how would you learn?" Cho, Hermione and Katie asked.

**Don't ask questions — that was the first rule for a quiet life with the Dursleys.**

"Ah young Harry—" Fred said.

"—a quiet life is a boring life." George said.

**Uncle Vernon entered the kitchen as Harry was turning over the bacon.**

" **Comb your hair!" he barked, by way of a morning greeting.**

"Not gonna work," Harry snorted.

**About once a week, Uncle Vernon looked over the top of his newspaper and shouted that Harry needed a haircut. Harry must have had more haircuts than the rest of the boys in his class put together, but it made no difference, his hair simply grew that way — all over the place.**

"Told ya" Harry smirked.

"No one disagreed with you Harry." Ron said.

**Harry was frying eggs by the time Dudley arrived in the kitchen with his mother.**

"Wait, you cooked?" Alicia asked, glaring at the book in her friend's hands.

"Only since age six," Harry quickly said.

Surprisingly this didn't calm people down much.

"No wonder you were in the kitchen so much when you came over this summer," Ron said.

"Yeah, Mum had to almost ban him." Fred piped up.

**Dudley looked a lot like Uncle Vernon. He had a large pink face, not much neck, small, watery blue eyes, and thick blond hair that lay smoothly on his thick, fat head.**

"Pig in a wig much?" Fred whispered to George.

**Aunt Petunia often said that Dudley looked like a baby angel — Harry often said that Dudley looked like a pig in a wig.**

"Hey I think like Harry!'

**Harry put the plates of egg and bacon on the table, which was difficult as there wasn't much room. Dudley, meanwhile, was counting his presents. His face fell.**

" **Thirty-six," he said, looking up at his mother and father. "That's two less than last year."**

"What!" Everyone—except for Harry—yelled.

"I don't get that much," Cedric said, "and my dad lives to spoil me."

" **Darling, you haven't counted Auntie Marge's present, see, it's here under this big one from Mummy and Daddy."**

" **All right, thirty-seven then," said Dudley, going red in the face. Harry, who could see a huge Dudley tantrum coming on, began wolfing down his bacon as fast as possible in case Dudley turned the table over.**

"Smart move mate," Ron said seriously. He never joked when it came to food.

"Oh, Harry." Katie gasped. "You should chew. You might choke."

"Umm? Right here?" Harry said. "I'd remember choking."

**Aunt Petunia obviously scented danger, too, because she said quickly, "And we'll buy you another two presents while we're out today. How's that, popkin? Two more presents. Is that all right?"**

"Spoiled brat," Alicia muttered.

**Dudley thought for a moment. It looked like hard work. Finally he said slowly, "So I'll have thirty… thirty…"**

"How stupid could one person be?" Cho asked.

" **Thirty-nine, sweetums," said Aunt Petunia.**

" **Oh." Dudley sat down heavily and grabbed the nearest parcel. "All right then."**

**Uncle Vernon chuckled.**

" **Little tyke wants his money's worth, just like his father. 'Atta boy, Dudley!" He ruffled Dudley's hair.**

"He's proud of that?" Oliver asked in a tone of surprise.

"It's uncle Vernon," Harry shrugged. "You were here for the last chapter."

**At that moment the telephone rang and Aunt Petunia went to answer it while Harry and Uncle Vernon watched Dudley unwrap the racing bike, a video camera, a remote control airplane, sixteen new computer games, and a VCR.**

**He was ripping the paper off a gold wristwatch when Aunt Petunia came back from the telephone looking both angry and worried.**

" **Bad news, Vernon," she said. "Mrs. Figg's broken her leg. She can't take him."**

"He has a name!" Katie, Cho, Hermione, Angelina and Alicia growled. Everyone else in there made a vow to either never make them mad at them or to point them at Malfoy if somehow they had.

**She jerked her head in Harry's direction.**

**Dudley's mouth fell open in horror, but Harry's heart gave a leap. Every year on Dudley's birthday, his parents took him and a friend out for the day, to adventure parks, hamburger restaurants, or the movies. Every year, Harry was left behind with Mrs. Figg, a mad old lady who lived two streets away. Harry hated it there. The whole house smelled of cabbage and Mrs. Figg made him look at photographs of all the cats she'd ever owned.**

"Ouch," Harry winced as Hermione whacked him over the head. "I was eleven."

"That was a year ago!" 

" **Now what?" said Aunt Petunia, looking furiously at Harry as though he'd planned this. Harry knew he ought to feel sorry that Mrs. Figg had broken her leg, but it wasn't easy when he reminded himself it would be a whole year before he had to look at Tibbles, Snowy, Mr. Paws, and Tufty again.**

"That's not nice Harry," Oliver frowned.

"Once a year, three hours of just doing that." Harry frowned. "Wouldn't you be grateful?"

Everyone frowned at the reminder of Harry's home life.

" **We could phone Marge," Uncle Vernon suggested.**

"No, Merlin _no_!" Harry growled at the book. Everyone else exchanged dark looks. They hated the Dursleys; if Marge could get this kind of reaction out of Harry they'd be sure to hate her too.

" **Don't be silly, Vernon, she hates the boy."**

**The Dursleys often spoke about Harry like this, as though he wasn't there — or rather, as though he was something very nasty that couldn't understand them, like a slug.**

"I don't think Harry's a slug," Fred said.

"More like a snail." George finished.

" **What about what's-her-name, your friend — Yvonne?"**

" **On vacation in Majorca," snapped Aunt Petunia.**

" **You could just leave me here," Harry put in hopefully (he'd be able to watch what he wanted on television for a change and maybe even have a go on Dudley's computer).**

"I doubt that would work," Ron said with a glare. "They'd probably take you to make sure you were miserable."

**Aunt Petunia looked as though she'd just swallowed a lemon.**

" **And come back and find the house in ruins?" she snarled.**

"Do it!" the twins shouted, bouncing up and down like three year olds.

"Don't do it!" the girls scolded.

" **I won't blow up the house," said Harry, but they weren't listening.**

The twins fake-sobbed at Harry's innocence.

"Do shut up," Harry said. "Or else I'm whacking you over the head with one of your bats."

That shut them up quickly.

" **I suppose we could take him to the zoo," said Aunt Petunia slowly, "… and leave him in the car…"**

"He's a person, not an animal," Cedric said with a glare at the book.

"Would you treat your son like this?" Alicia asked the book.

"Alicia, you're talking to a book," Oliver told her.

" **That car's new, he's not sitting in it alone…"**

**Dudley began to cry loudly. In fact, he wasn't really crying — it had been years since he'd really cried — but he knew that if he screwed up his face and wailed, his mother would give him anything he wanted.**

"A muggle Malfoy," Fred said, his eyes wide in fear.

"Run Harry. Run!" Ron said before George could. George pouted.

" **Dinky Duddydums,**

"I told you it got better," Harry said through his laughter. Now that he was away from the Dursleys, he could laugh at Dudley all he wanted without fear of punishment.

"Poor sap," Alicia wheezed.

"How did he have friends?" Oliver gasped.

"With luck, and the fact that they were all stupid." Harry said with a nod of his head. "Imagine muggle Crabbe or Goyle."

Ron shuddered.

**don't cry, Mummy won't let him spoil your special day!" she cried, flinging her arms around him.**

" **I… don't… want… him… t-t-to come!" Dudley yelled between huge, pretend sobs. "He always sp-spoils everything!" He shot Harry a nasty grin through the gap in his mother's arms.**

**Just then, the doorbell rang — "Oh, good Lord, they're here!" said Aunt Petunia frantically — and a moment later, Dudley's best friend, Piers Polkiss, walked in with his mother.**

**Piers was a scrawny boy with a face like a rat. He was usually the one who held people's arms behind their backs while Dudley hit them. Dudley stopped pretending to cry at once.**

"Can't cry in front of your friends?" Fred said with a wicked grin.

"Well, isn't he a lovely person," Katie sniffed.

**Half an hour later, Harry, who couldn't believe his luck, was sitting in the back of the Dursleys' car with Piers and Dudley, on the way to the zoo for the first time in his life. His aunt and uncle hadn't been able to think of anything else to do with him, but before they'd left, Uncle Vernon had taken Harry aside.**

" **I'm warning you," he had said, putting his large purple face right up close to Harry's, "I'm warning you now, boy — any funny business, anything at all — and you'll be in that cupboard from now until Christmas."**

"They better not have," Hermione said in a dark tone. Harry shifted around in his spot, ignoring the eyes of everyone in the locker room. It was only till the summer, not that bad. Right?

" **I'm not going to do anything," said Harry, "honestly…"**

**But Uncle Vernon didn't believe him. No one ever did.**

**The problem was, strange things often happened around Harry and it was just no good telling the Dursleys he didn't make them happen.**

"It's magic, Harry!" the twins yelled.

"Oliver, hand me one of their bats," Harry said with a glare. "We'll never get through this chapter if they don't shut up."

"Shutting up Harry, no need to resort to violence." Fred said with a wary look in his eyes.

**Once, Aunt Petunia, tired of Harry coming back from the barbers looking as though he hadn't been at all, had taken a pair of kitchen scissors and cut his hair so short he was almost bald except for his bangs, which she left "to hide that horrible scar." Dudley had laughed himself silly at Harry, who spent a sleepless night imagining school the next day, where he was already laughed at for his baggy clothes and taped glasses.**

**Next morning, however, he had gotten up to find his hair exactly as it had been before Aunt Petunia had sheared it off.**

Cho frowned. She knew that some people did get their hair cut at home, but she didn't know anyone who was given a haircut meant to humiliate them.

Fred was high fiving Harry at the fact that his hair was awesome.

**He had been given a week in his cupboard for this, even though he had tried to explain that he couldn't explain how it had grown back so quickly.**

"Magic, idiots." Oliver growled. "You can't punish someone because their hair grew back. That'd be like punishing the twins for being pranksters. It just happens."

**Another time, Aunt Petunia had been trying to force him into a revolting old sweater of Dudley's (brown with orange puff balls).**

"Eww!"

**The harder she tried to pull it over his head, the smaller it seemed to become, until finally it might have fitted a hand puppet, but certainly wouldn't fit Harry.**

"Nice!"

**Aunt Petunia had decided it must have shrunk in the wash and, to his great relief, Harry wasn't punished.**

"At least you weren't punished." Hermione said with a sigh. She now hated hearing about her friend's home life.

**On the other hand, he'd gotten into terrible trouble for being found on the roof of the school kitchens. Dudley's gang had been chasing him as usual when, as much to Harry's surprise as anyone else's, there he was sitting on the chimney.**

"YOU APPERATED!" Ron shouted in surprise.

"No, he flew." Fred said in shock.

"Apperated."

"Flew."

"Ron, I'm not above whacking you with the bat too," Harry said with a glare.

"That's some powerful accidental magic." Oliver told him.

**The Dursleys had received a very angry letter from Harry's headmistress telling them Harry had been climbing school buildings. But all he'd tried to do (as he shouted at Uncle Vernon through the locked door of his cupboard) was jump behind the big trashcans outside the kitchen doors. Harry supposed that the wind must have caught him in mid-jump.**

"Note to self: teach Harry how to lie." Fred muttered.

"Note to self: I can not whack people with beater bats for being annoying." Harry muttered back. Fred just glared at him.

**But today, nothing was going to go wrong. It was even worth being with Dudley and Piers to be spending the day somewhere that wasn't school, his cupboard, or Mrs. Figg's cabbage-smelling living room.**

**While he drove, Uncle Vernon complained to Aunt Petunia. He liked to complain about things: people at work, Harry, the council, Harry, the bank, and Harry were just a few of his favorite subjects. This morning, it was motorcycles.**

"You know, I don't think he likes talking about Harry much," Alicia said.

"Yeah, he should talk about you more," Katie said with a smirk.

"… **roaring along like maniacs, the young hoodlums," he said, as a motorcycle overtook them.**

" **I had a dream about a motorcycle," said Harry, remembering suddenly. "It was flying."**

"There's the Gryffindor bravery." Ron said smiling.

**Uncle Vernon nearly crashed into the car in front. He turned right around in his seat and yelled at Harry, his face like a gigantic beet with a mustache: "MOTORCYCLES DON'T FLY!"**

"Yes they do." Fred said in a tone of voice that reminded Harry of a two year old being told Father Christmas didn't exist.

**Dudley and Piers sniggered.**

" **I know they don't," said Harry. "It was only a dream."**

**But he wished he hadn't said anything. If there was one thing the Dursleys hated even more than his asking questions, it was his talking about anything acting in a way it shouldn't, no matter if it was in a dream or even a cartoon — they seemed to think he might get dangerous ideas.**

**It was a very sunny Saturday and the zoo was crowded with families. The Dursleys bought Dudley and Piers large chocolate ice creams at the entrance and then, because the smiling lady in the van had asked Harry what he wanted before they could hurry him away, they bought him a cheap lemon ice pop.**

Everyone glared at the book until Harry piped up, "It wasn't bad."

"And at least they bought him something," Cho pointed out.

**It wasn't bad, either, Harry thought, licking it as they watched a gorilla scratching its head who looked remarkably like Dudley, except that it wasn't blond.**

"I think we should be glad that Harry is not a prankster," Angelina said. "The school probably wouldn't be standing otherwise."

**Harry had the best morning he'd had in a long time. He was careful to walk a little way apart from the Dursleys so that Dudley and Piers, who were starting to get bored with the animals by lunchtime, wouldn't fall back on their favorite hobby of hitting him.**

**They ate in the zoo restaurant, and when Dudley had a tantrum because his knickerbocker glory didn't have enough ice cream on top, Uncle Vernon bought him another one and Harry was allowed to finish the first.**

**Harry felt, afterward, that he should have known it was all too good to last.**

"What did they do?" Hermione hissed.

"Just read," Harry said. He really hoped the book wouldn't spend too much time on his home life.

**After lunch they went to the reptile house. It was cool and dark in there, with lit windows all along the walls. Behind the glass, all sorts of lizards and snakes were crawling and slithering over bits of wood and stone. Dudley and Piers wanted to see huge, poisonous cobras and thick, man-crushing pythons. Dudley quickly found the largest snake in the place. It could have wrapped its body twice around Uncle Vernon's car and crushed it into a trash can — but at the moment it didn't look in the mood. In fact, it was fast asleep.**

**Dudley stood with his nose pressed against the glass, staring at the glistening brown coils.**

" **Make it move," he whined at his father. Uncle Vernon tapped on the glass, but the snake didn't budge.**

" **Do it again," Dudley ordered. Uncle Vernon rapped the glass smartly with his knuckles, but the snake just snoozed on.**

" **This is boring," Dudley moaned. He shuffled away.**

**Harry moved in front of the tank and looked intently at the snake. He wouldn't have been surprised if it had died of boredom itself — no company except stupid people drumming their fingers on the glass trying to disturb it all day long. It was worse than having a cupboard as a bedroom, where the only visitor was Aunt Petunia hammering on the door to wake you up; at least he got to visit the rest of the house.**

**The snake suddenly opened its beady eyes. Slowly, very slowly, it raised its head until its eyes were on a level with Harry's.**

**It winked.**

"Wait, what?" Katie asked.

"Snakes don't have eyelids," Cho said, a little confused.

**Harry stared. Then he looked quickly around to see if anyone was watching. They weren't. He looked back at the snake and winked, too.**

**The snake jerked its head toward Uncle Vernon and Dudley, then raised its eyes to the ceiling. It gave Harry a look that said quite plainly:**

" **I get that all the time."**

" **I know," Harry murmured through the glass, though he wasn't sure the snake could hear him. "It must be really annoying."**

"You're talking to a snake," Oliver said faintly.

**The snake nodded vigorously.**

" **Where do you come from, anyway?" Harry asked.**

**The snake jabbed its tail at a little sign next to the glass. Harry peered at it.**

**Boa Constrictor, Brazil.**

" **Was it nice there?"**

**The boa constrictor jabbed its tail at the sign again and Harry read on: This specimen was bred in the zoo. "Oh, I see — so you've never been to Brazil?"**

"You're a parselmouth?" Alicia asked Harry.

"I'm a _what_?"

"You can speak to snakes," Ron told him.

"Umm, sure?"

"How?" Cedric asked.

"Ummm? No idea," Harry said. "I just learned what it was today."

**As the snake shook its head, a deafening shout behind Harry made both of them jump. "DUDLEY! MR. DURSLEY! COME AND LOOK AT THIS SNAKE! YOU WON'T BELIEVE WHAT IT'S DOING!"**

"Git."

**Dudley came waddling toward them as fast as he could.**

" **Out of the way, you," he said, punching Harry in the ribs. Caught by surprise, Harry fell hard on the concrete floor.**

The girls all glared at the book.

The twins snorted though at the image of Dudley waddling.

**What came next happened so fast no one saw how it happened — one second, Piers and Dudley were leaning right up close to the glass, the next, they had leapt back with howls of horror.**

"Huh? **"** Cho asked.

**Harry sat up and gasped; the glass front of the boa constrictor's tank had vanished.**

"Whoa."

"Don't anger Harry." The twins said with a grin.

Ron was laughing so hard tears were coming to his eyes.

**The great snake was uncoiling itself rapidly, slithering out onto the floor. People throughout the reptile house screamed and started running for the exits.**

**As the snake slid swiftly past him, Harry could have sworn a low, hissing voice said, "Brazil, here I come… Thanksss, amigo."**

"Err, friendly snake?" Oliver said in surprise.

**The keeper of the reptile house was in shock.**

" **But the glass," he kept saying, "where did the glass go?"**

**The zoo director himself made Aunt Petunia a cup of strong, sweet tea while he apologized over and over again. Piers and Dudley could only gibber. As far as Harry had seen, the snake hadn't done anything except snap playfully at their heels as it passed, but by the time they were all back in Uncle Vernon's car, Dudley was telling them how it had nearly bitten off his leg, while Piers was swearing it had tried to squeeze him to death. But worst of all, for Harry at least, was Piers calming down enough to say, "Harry was talking to it, weren't you, Harry?"**.

"Idiot, he shouldn't have said that." Ron growled.

"He's going to get Harry in trouble." Katie glared.

**Uncle Vernon waited until Piers was safely out of the house before starting on Harry. He was so angry he could hardly speak. He managed to say, "Go — cupboard — stay — no meals," before he collapsed into a chair, and Aunt Petunia had to run and get him a large brandy.**

"That's starvation!" Oliver shouted. He was feeling very guilty that he was happy about Harry being the right fit for a seeker now.

**Harry lay in his dark cupboard much later, wishing he had a watch. He didn't know what time it was and he couldn't be sure the Dursleys were asleep yet. Until they were, he couldn't risk sneaking to the kitchen for some food.**

"A true prankster!" Fred exclaimed loudly.

**He'd lived with the Dursleys almost ten years, ten miserable years, as long as he could remember, ever since he'd been a baby and his parents had died in that car crash. He couldn't remember being in the car when his parents had died. Sometimes, when he strained his memory during long hours in his cupboard, he came up with a strange vision: a blinding flash of green light and a burning pain on his forehead.**

"The killing curse? You survived the _Killing_ curse?" Cedric said faintly.

"Umm, yeah? I mean I assume so based on your reaction?"

"How?"

"No clue." 

**This, he supposed, was the crash, though he couldn't imagine where all the green light came from. He couldn't remember his parents at all.**

Everyone looked at Harry sadly. It wasn't fair that the savior of their world should have so little of what they all took for granted.

**His aunt and uncle never spoke about them, and of course he was forbidden to ask questions. There were no photographs of them in the house.**

"You don't know what they looked like?" Hermione asked sadly.

"I do now. Hagrid gave me that photo album remember?"

**When he had been younger, Harry had dreamed and dreamed of some unknown relation coming to take him away, but it had never happened;**

"You shouldn't have to wish that at all," Cho said sadly.

**the Dursleys were his only family. Yet sometimes he thought (or maybe hoped) that strangers in the street seemed to know him. Very strange strangers they were, too.**

**A tiny man in a violet top hat had bowed to him once while out shopping with Aunt Petunia and Dudley. After asking Harry furiously if he knew the man, Aunt Petunia had rushed them out of the shop without buying anything.**

"Are they trying to drive him mad?" Cedric shook his head.

**A wild-looking old woman dressed all in green had waved merrily at him once on a bus. A bald man in a very long purple coat had actually shaken his hand in the street the other day and then walked away without a word. The weirdest thing about all these people was the way they seemed to vanish the second Harry tried to get a closer look.**

"Annoying," Harry muttered.

**At school, Harry had no one. Everybody knew that Dudley's gang hated that odd Harry Potter in his baggy old clothes and broken glasses, and nobody liked to disagree with Dudley's gang.**

"I would like to disagree with Dudley's gang," Fred said with a solemn expression on his face.

"Who's next?" Harry asked, trying to get the attention off of him.

"Alicia is," Angelina said and passed it to her fellow chaser. Alicia cleared her throat and said "The Letters from No One."


	3. Chapter 3

" **Letters From No One,"** Alicia read.

"How can a letter be from _no one_?" Ron asked. "If someone's sending the letter, then it has to be from _someone_." 

**The escape of the Brazilian boa constrictor earned Harry his longest-ever punishment.**

"How long was it?" Hermione asked.

Harry muttered something that no one could make out.

**By the time he was allowed out of his cupboard again, the summer holidays had started and Dudley had already broken his new video camera, crashed his remote control airplane, and, first time out on his racing bike, knocked down old Mrs. Figg as she crossed Privet Drive on her crutches.**

"Poor Mrs. Figg," Cho said with a frown.

**Harry was glad school was over, but there was no escaping Dudley's gang, who visited the house every single day. Piers, Dennis, Malcolm, and Gordon were all big and stupid, but as Dudley was the biggest and stupidest of the lot, he was the leader.**

"Sounds like Malfoy and his goons," Ron said.

"No, cause if it was then Goyle would be the leader," Harry told him.

**The rest of them were all quite happy to join in Dudley's favorite sport: Harry Hunting.**

"I dislike that sport, let's try Dudley Hunting instead." Oliver said as he glared at the book.

**This was why Harry spent as much time as possible out of the house, wandering around and thinking about the end of the holidays, where he could see a tiny ray of hope. When September came he would be going off to secondary school and, for the first time in his life, he wouldn't be with Dudley. Dudley had been accepted at Uncle Vernon's old private school, Smeltings.**

"Smeltings?" Ron asked through his laughter.

"Isn't a smelt a type of fish?" Hermione asked.

"Yeah."

Cedric though frowned. It wasn't as if they could talk. They went to a school that was called Hogwarts, for crying out loud.

**Piers Polkiss was going there too. Harry, on the other hand, was going to Stonewall High,**

"No, Harry's going to Hogwarts!" Fred yelled.

"Fred! That was my _ear_!" Katie said and swatted him on the arm.

**the local public school. Dudley thought this was very funny.**

" **They stuff people's heads down the toilet the first day at Stonewall," he told Harry. "Want to come upstairs and practice?"**

"Git."

" **No, thanks," said Harry. "The poor toilet's never had anything as horrible as your head down it — it might be sick." Then he ran, before Dudley could work out what he'd said.**

"Why'd you run?" Cedric asked. "It's not like he'd figure it out for some time."

Everyone else was busy laughing at Harry's wit.

"Harry? Would you be interested in pranking?" George asked.

"No."

**One day in July, Aunt Petunia took Dudley to London to buy his Smeltings uniform, leaving Harry at Mrs. Figg's. Mrs. Figg wasn't as bad as usual. It turned out she'd broken her leg tripping over one of her cats, and she didn't seem quite as fond of them as before. She let Harry watch television and gave him a bit of chocolate cake that tasted as though she'd had it for several years.**

**That evening, Dudley paraded around the living room for the family in his brand-new uniform. Smeltings' boys wore maroon tailcoats,**

"Gorgeous," Fred said, the sarcasm audible in every syllable.

**orange knickerbockers,**

"Lovely," George returned.

**and flat straw hats called boaters.**

"Amazing," they finished at the same time, rolling their eyes. "Merlin, don't you just love the plain robes now?"

**They also carried knobbly sticks, used for hitting each other while the teachers weren't looking. This was supposed to be good training for later life.**

"How in Merlin's name is hitting others good training for later life?" Oliver asked.

"I haven't the foggiest," Harry said.

**As he looked at Dudley in his new knickerbockers, Uncle Vernon said gruffly that it was the proudest moment of his life.**

"That's really sad." Katie said.

"Yeah, shouldn't the proudest moment be when he's born or when he gets married?" Cho asked.

"No one would want to marry into that family," Harry muttered.

**Aunt Petunia burst into tears and said she couldn't believe it was her Ickle Dudleykins,**

Everyone roared with laugher once again, though the twins made a mental note to stop calling Ron by the names their mother called him. They saw how embarrassing it was.

**he looked so handsome and grown-up. Harry didn't trust himself to speak. He thought two of his ribs might already have cracked from trying not to laugh.**

**There was a horrible smell in the kitchen the next morning when Harry went in for breakfast. It seemed to be coming from a large metal tub in the sink. He went to have a look. The tub was full of what looked like dirty rags swimming in gray water.**

" **What's this?" he asked Aunt Petunia. Her lips tightened as they always did if he dared to ask a question.**

"She's not going to change just because you all are glaring at the book," Harry told them. In truth about five death glares were being sent Alicia's way.

" **Your new school uniform," she said.**

**Harry looked in the bowl again.**

" **Oh," he said, "I didn't realize it had to be so wet."**

"Harry's wit strikes again," Hermione laughed.

"I was being sarcastic." Harry said.

"So? It's still funny." Angelina said.

" **Don't be stupid," snapped Aunt Petunia. "I'm dyeing some of Dudley's old things gray for you. It'll look just like everyone else's when I've finished."**

**Harry seriously doubted this, but thought it best not to argue.**

"Good," Katie nodded. "I don't want to hear about her dumb excuses."

**He sat down at the table and tried not to think about how he was going to look on his first day at Stonewall High — like he was wearing bits of old elephant skin, probably.**

"Harry, stop being so funny," Ron said through his aching side.

"It wasn't that funny Ron." Harry said, confused and made a mental note to try to avoid having his future self come with books about his life so early in the morning in the future.

**Dudley and Uncle Vernon came in, both with wrinkled noses because of the smell from Harry's new uniform. Uncle Vernon opened his newspaper as usual and Dudley banged his Smelting stick, which he carried everywhere, on the table.**

"Brat"

**They heard the click of the mail slot and flop of letters on the doormat.**

" **Get the mail, Dudley," said Uncle Vernon from behind his paper.**

"No way!"

"The prat actually has to do something?"

"IT'S THE END OF THE WORLD!" The twins said.

"That was my ear!" Cho yelled.

" **Make Harry get it."**

"Ah, now the world's back to normal."

" **Get the mail, Harry."**

" **Make Dudley get it."**

" **Poke him with your Smelting stick, Dudley."**

"How could they allow this?" Oliver growled. "They're supposed to be adults."

"I think the more important question is how could Dumbledore put him there?" Fred said, his face dark.

**Harry dodged the Smelting stick and went to get the mail. Three things lay on the doormat: a postcard from Uncle Vernon's sister Marge, who was vacationing on the Isle of Wight, a brown envelope that looked like a bill, and —** _**a letter for Harry** _ **.**

"Whoo!" Ron and the twins shouted.

**Harry picked it up and stared at it, his heart twanging like a giant elastic band. No one, ever, in his whole life, had written to him.**

The cheerful mood that the three boys had managed to bring faded as fast as it came.

**Who would? He had no friends, no other relatives — he didn't belong to the library, so he'd never even got rude notes asking for books back. Yet here it was, a letter, addressed so plainly there could be no mistake:**

_**Mr. H. Potter** _

_**The Cupboard under the Stairs 4 Privet Drive** _

_**Little Whinging** _

_**Surrey** _

"You know, it's amazing how accurate those letters are." Cedric said. Everyone else was glaring at the book for bringing up the cupboard _again_.

**The envelope was thick and heavy, made of yellowish parchment, and the address was written in emerald-green ink.**

**There was no stamp.**

**Turning the envelope over, his hand trembling, Harry saw a purple wax seal bearing a coat of arms; a lion, an eagle, a badger, and a snake surrounding a large letter** _**H** _ **.**

"Yay! Hogwarts!" Ron shouted.

" **Hurry up, boy!" shouted Uncle Vernon from the kitchen. "What are you doing, checking for letter bombs?" He chuckled at his own joke.**

"That was a joke?" Fred said in disgust.

" _Percy_ could come up with better." George finished.

**Harry went back to the kitchen, still staring at his letter. He handed Uncle Vernon the bill and the postcard, sat down, and slowly began to open the yellow envelope.**

"You read it in there?" Ron turned to his friend, who's face was slowly turning red.

"I didn't think they'd notice." he muttered.

**Uncle Vernon ripped open the bill, snorted in disgust, and flipped over the postcard.**

" **Marge's ill," he informed Aunt Petunia. "Ate a funny whelk…"**

" **Dad!" said Dudley suddenly. "Dad, Harry's got something!"**

"Git."

**Harry was on the point of unfolding his letter,**

**which was written on the same heavy parchment as the envelope, when it was jerked sharply out of his hand by Uncle Vernon.**

" **That's** _ **mine**_ **!" said Harry, trying to snatch it back.**

"You tell him, Harry!" Fred yelled.

" **Who'd be writing to you?" sneered Uncle Vernon,**

"Tons of people actually."

**shaking the letter open with one hand and glancing at it. His face went from red to green faster than a set of traffic lights. And it didn't stop there. Within seconds it was the grayish white of old porridge.**

"Attractive," Cho sniffed.

" **P-P-Petunia!" he gasped.**

**Dudley tried to grab the letter to read it, but Uncle Vernon held it high out of his reach. Aunt Petunia took it curiously and read the first line. For a moment it looked as though she might faint. She clutched her throat and made a choking noise.**

"Choke, choke…."

"She didn't, so stop chanting." Harry told the twins.

" **Vernon! Oh my goodness — Vernon!"**

**They stared at each other, seeming to have forgotten that Harry and Dudley were still in the room. Dudley wasn't used to being ignored. He gave his father a sharp tap on the head with his Smelting stick.**

"If I did that, I'd be de-gnoming the garden for a month," Ron said and the twins nodded.

" **I want to read that letter," he said loudly.**

" _ **I**_ **want to read it," said Harry furiously, "as it's** _ **mine**_ **."**

"Woo, go Harry!" Ron cheered.

" **Get out, both of you," croaked Uncle Vernon, stuffing the letter back inside its envelope.**

**Harry didn't move.**

" **I WANT MY LETTER!" he shouted.**

" **Let** _ **me**_ **see it!" demanded Dudley.**

"It's none of his business." Cho huffed.

" **OUT!" roared Uncle Vernon, and he took both Harry and Dudley by the scruffs of their necks and threw them into the hall, slamming the kitchen door behind them. Harry and Dudley promptly had a furious but silent fight over who would listen at the keyhole;**

"Fight, fight, fight," the twins chanted.

"You all know who would win." Harry sighed. "The git's five times my size."

**Dudley won, so Harry,** **his glasses dangling from one ear, lay flat on his stomach to listen at the crack between door and floor.**

" **Vernon," Aunt Petunia was saying in a quivering voice, "look at the address — how could they possibly know where he sleeps? You don't think they're watching the house?"**

"Why would we watch their house?" Ron asked.

"Cause I'm the Boy-Who-Lived?" Harry said dryly.

"Oh. Yeah."

" **Watching — spying — might be following us," muttered Uncle Vernon wildly.**

" **But what should we do, Vernon? Should we write back? Tell them we don't want —"**

**Harry could see Uncle Vernon's shiny black shoes pacing up and down the kitchen.**

" **No," he said finally. "No, we'll ignore it. If they don't get an answer… Yes, that's best… we won't do anything…"**

"It's not going to work," Oliver sang.

" **But —"**

" **I'm not having one in the house, Petunia! Didn't we swear when we took him in we'd stamp out that dangerous nonsense?"**

Everyone looked over at Harry, who was determined not to meet anyone's eyes.

"Stamp it out?" Ron said faintly.

"You can't stamp out magic you idiotic muggles!" Katie yelled.

"Harry, I'll ask my dad if you can come over for Christmas. Either that or for the summer." Cedric said. "No reason why you should suffer there any more than you need to."

"Yeah, the Burrow's always open." Fred said.

"So's my place." Katie and Alicia told him.

"Ditto." Oliver said, his face grim.

"My parents would love for me to have more of my friends over," Angelina said and Cho nodded.

"My parents already think you're amazing Harry. They said you're welcome anytime." Hermione told him.

**That evening when he got back from work, Uncle Vernon did something he'd never done before; he visited Harry in his cupboard.**

"He fit!"

" **Where's my letter?" said Harry, the moment Uncle Vernon had squeezed through the door. "Who's writing to me?"**

" **No one. It was addressed to you by mistake," said Uncle Vernon shortly.**

"No it wasn't!"

" **I have burned it."**

" **It was** _ **not**_ **a mistake," said Harry angrily, "it had my cupboard on it."**

" **SILENCE!" yelled Uncle Vernon, and a couple of spiders fell from the ceiling.**

**He took a few deep breaths and then forced his face into a smile, which looked quite painful.**

" **Er — yes, Harry — about this cupboard. Your aunt and I have been thinking… you're really getting a bit big for it… we think it might be nice if you moved into Dudley's second bedroom.**

"Second bedroom?" Katie hissed.

"That git had a _second bedroom?_ " Alicia said, her hands wrapping around the book dangerously.

" **Why?" said Harry.**

"You're questioning him?" Oliver asked.

"It was the first nice thing they did for me, I was curious." Harry said with a shrug.

" **Don't ask questions!" snapped his uncle. "Take this stuff upstairs, now."**

**The Dursleys' house had four bedrooms: one for Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia, one for visitors (usually Uncle Vernon's sister, Marge),**

"A GUEST ROOM!" Hermione shouted. Harry tried to make himself invisible while the twins, Ron, Cedric and Katie planned a prank on them. Oliver was making mental notes so that way he could appeal to Dumbledore and get Harry removed.

"Why are we reading about this?" Cho asked. "I mean, we're just kids. We can't do anything about it."

"Damn it, she has a point." George muttered.

**one where Dudley slept, and one where Dudley kept all the toys and things that wouldn't fit into his first bedroom. It only took Harry one trip upstairs to move everything he owned from the cupboard to this room. He sat down on the bed and stared around him. Nearly everything in here was broken. The month-old video camera was lying on top of a small, working tank Dudley had once driven over the next door neighbor's dog; in the corner was Dudley's first-ever television set, which he'd put his foot through when his favorite program had been canceled; there was a large birdcage, which had once held a parrot that Dudley had swapped at school for a real air rifle, which was up on a shelf with the end all bent because Dudley had sat on it. Other shelves were full of books. They were the only things in the room that looked as though they'd never been touched.**

**From downstairs came the sound of Dudley bawling at his mother, "I don't** _**want** _ **him in there… I** _**need** _ **that room… make him get out…"**

" _Harry_ needs that room, you pig!" Alicia spat.

**Harry sighed and stretched out on the bed. Yesterday he'd have given anything to be up here. Today he'd rather be back in his cupboard with that letter than up here without it.**

"You, my friend, are insane." Ron said with a shake of his head.

**Next morning at breakfast, everyone was rather quiet. Dudley was in shock. He'd screamed, whacked his father with his Smelting stick, been sick on purpose, kicked his mother, and thrown his tortoise through the greenhouse roof, and he still didn't have his room back. Harry was thinking about this time yesterday and bitterly wishing he'd opened the letter in the hall.**

"The git's eleven right?" Katie asked.

"Yeah." Harry nodded.

"He acts like he's three."

**Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia kept looking at each other darkly.**

**When the mail arrived, Uncle Vernon, who seemed to be trying to be nice to Harry, made Dudley go and get it.**

**They heard him banging things with his Smelting stick all the way down the hall. Then he shouted, "There's another one! 'Mr. H. Potter, The Smallest Bedroom, 4 Privet Drive —'"**

"Git."

"If he wanted to read it, why did he announce it was there?" Katie asked.

"Because he's an idiot," Harry sighed.

**With a strangled cry, Uncle Vernon leapt from his seat and ran down the hall, Harry right behind him. Uncle Vernon had to wrestle Dudley to the ground to get the letter from him, which was made difficult by the fact that Harry had grabbed Uncle Vernon around the neck from behind. After a minute of confused fighting, in which everyone got hit a lot by the Smelting stick, Uncle Vernon straightened up, gasping for breath, with Harry's letter clutched in his hand.**

"At least Harry got to strangle him," Fred said trying to cheer everyone up.

"Is that how you fight everything that's bigger than you?" Hermione asked Harry in a whisper. "First your uncle, then the troll?"

" **Go to your cupboard — I mean, your bedroom," he wheezed at Harry. "Dudley — go — just go."**

**Harry walked round and round his new room. Someone knew he had moved out of his cupboard and they seemed to know he hadn't received his first letter. Surely that meant they'd try again? And this time he'd make sure they didn't fail. He had a plan.**

"Of course you did," Hermione shook her head but could be seen with a smile.

"Hey, some of my plans worked."

**The repaired alarm clock rang at six o'clock the next morning. Harry turned it off quickly and dressed silently. He mustn't wake the Dursleys. He stole downstairs without turning on any of the lights.**

**He was going to wait for the postman on the corner of Privet Drive and get the letters for number four first. His heart hammered as he crept across the dark hall toward the front door —**

" **AAAAARRRGH!"**

**Harry leapt into the air; he'd trodden on something big and squashy on the doormat — something** _**alive** _ **!**

**Lights clicked on upstairs and to his horror Harry realized that the big, squashy something had been his uncle's face.**

The room was full of laughter.

"Harry, you're our hero!" the twins yelled while gasping for air.

"Nice one mate." Ron panted.

**Uncle Vernon had been lying at the foot of the front door in a sleeping bag, clearly making sure that Harry didn't do exactly what he'd been trying to do. He shouted at Harry for about half an hour and then told him to go and make a cup of tea. Harry shuffled miserably off into the kitchen and by the time he got back, the mail had arrived, right into Uncle Vernon's lap. Harry could see three letters addressed in green ink.**

"What's with all the green?" George asked.

"Why does it matter?" Cho asked him.

" **I want —" he began, but Uncle Vernon was tearing the letters into pieces before his eyes.**

**Uncle Vernon didn't go to work that day.**

**He stayed at home and nailed up the mail slot.**

"Obsessed much?" Angelina muttered.

" **See," he explained to Aunt Petunia through a mouthful of nails, "if they can't** _ **deliver**_ **them they'll just give up."**

" **I'm not sure that'll work, Vernon."**

"At least one of them has a brain," Hermione growled slightly as she rolled her eyes at the stupidity of her best friend's uncle.

" **Oh, these people's minds work in strange ways, Petunia, they're not like you and me," said Uncle Vernon, trying to knock in a nail with the piece of fruitcake Aunt Petunia had just brought him.**

"And we're thankful for that." Ron said with a nod.

**On Friday, no less than twelve letters arrived for Harry. As they couldn't go through the mail slot they had been pushed under the door, slotted through the sides, and a few even forced through the small window in the downstairs bathroom.**

**Uncle Vernon stayed at home again. After burning all the letters, he got out a hammer and nails and boarded up the cracks around the front and back doors so no one could go out. He hummed "Tiptoe Through the Tulips" as he worked, and jumped at small noises.**

"I think he's gone off the deep end." Oliver said.

"No? Really?" Cedric shook his head.

**On Saturday, things began to get out of hand. Twenty-four letters to Harry found their way into the house, rolled up and hidden inside each of the two-dozen eggs that their very confused milkman had handed Aunt Petunia through the living room window. While Uncle Vernon made furious telephone calls to the post office and the dairy trying to find someone to complain to, Aunt Petunia shredded the letters in her food processor.**

" **Who on earth wants to talk to** _ **you**_ **this badly?" Dudley asked Harry in amazement.**

"Plenty of people." Ron muttered.

"Oh, like you did?" George teased.

"I was _six_!"

**On Sunday morning, Uncle Vernon sat down at the breakfast table looking tired and rather ill, but happy.**

" **No post on Sundays," he reminded them cheerfully as he spread marmalade on his newspapers, "no damn letters today —"**

"That's what you think, oaf." Katie said with a squeal.

"I can't wait to see what happens." Alicia grinned.

**Something came whizzing down the kitchen chimney as he spoke and caught him sharply on the back of the head. Next moment, thirty or forty letters came pelting out of the fireplace like bullets. The Dursleys ducked, but Harry leapt into the air trying to catch one —**

"And you didn't pick one up off the floor _because_ …" Hermione raised an eyebrow.

Harry flushed, but Oliver saved him by saying "Because he's a seeker. You don't pick a snitch up from the ground do you?"

" **Out! OUT!"**

**Uncle Vernon seized Harry around the waist and threw him into the hall.**

The number of growls in the room made it sound like it was full of dogs instead of students.

**When Aunt Petunia and Dudley had run out with their arms over their faces, Uncle Vernon slammed the door shut. They could hear the letters still streaming into the room, bouncing off the walls and floor.**

" **That does it," said Uncle Vernon, trying to speak calmly but pulling great tufts out of his mustache at the same time. "I want you all back here in five minutes ready to leave. We're going away. Just pack some clothes. No arguments!"**

"Yep, he's lost it." Fred said with a nod.

"Gred, he never had it." George laughed.

**He looked so dangerous with half his mustache missing that no one dared argue. Ten minutes later they had wrenched their way through the boarded-up doors and were in the car, speeding toward the highway. Dudley was sniffling in the back seat; his father had hit him round the head for holding them up while he tried to pack his television, VCR, and computer in his sports bag.**

"Yay!"

Everyone looked at George with amused surprise on his or her face.

"What? The git got what was coming to him."

**They drove. And they drove. Even Aunt Petunia didn't dare ask where they were going. Every now and then Uncle Vernon would take a sharp turn and drive in the opposite direction for a while.**

" **Shake 'em off… shake 'em off," he would mutter whenever he did this.**

**They didn't stop to eat or drink all day. By nightfall Dudley was howling. He'd never had such a bad day in his life. He was hungry, he'd missed five television programs he'd wanted to see, and he'd never gone so long without blowing up an alien on his computer.**

"Brat."

"Welcome to Harry's life."

**Uncle Vernon stopped at last outside a gloomy-looking hotel on the outskirts of a big city. Dudley and Harry shared a room with twin beds and damp, musty sheets. Dudley snored but Harry stayed awake, sitting on the windowsill, staring down at the lights of passing cars and wondering…**

**They ate stale cornflakes and cold tinned tomatoes on toast for breakfast the next day. They had just finished when the owner of the hotel came over to their table.**

"Hey when can we eat?" Harry asked. "That toast can only last so long and Oliver got us up at the crack of dawn."

A note floated down on Harry's head and he read it aloud. "It says that once Fred or George has read, the future version of me will provide us with food. Oh, and it says that time has stopped so that way no one will be worried about us."

"Convenient," Ron muttered. "Sorry Katie, but Fred's reading after Alicia alright?"

"No problem. I want to eat too."

"' **Scuse me, but is one of you Mr. H. Potter? Only I got about an 'undred of these at the front desk."**

**She held up a letter so they could read the green ink address:**

_**Mr. H. Potter** _

_**Room 17** _

_**Railview Hotel** _

_**Cokeworth** _

**Harry made a grab for the letter but Uncle Vernon knocked his hand out of the way. The woman stared.**

"Who wouldn't?"

"The family, minus Harry, resemble farm animals."

" **I'll take them," said Uncle Vernon, standing up quickly and following her from the dining room.**

" **Wouldn't it be better just to go home, dear?" Aunt Petunia suggested timidly, hours later, but Uncle Vernon didn't seem to hear her.**

"See, he should listen to your aunt." Angelina said.

"Yeah, wasn't she the one with a witch for a sister?" Oliver asked.

**Exactly what he was looking for, none of them knew. He drove them into the middle of a forest, got out, looked around, shook his head, got back in the car, and off they went again. The same thing happened in the middle of a plowed field, halfway across a suspension bridge, and at the top of a multilevel parking garage.**

" **Daddy's gone mad, hasn't he?" Dudley asked Aunt Petunia dully late that afternoon.**

"No? Really?" Cho asked, the sarcasm audible.

"Harry, if your cousin knows this then he really has gone mad." Katie said.

**Uncle Vernon had parked at the coast, locked them all inside the car, and disappeared.**

**It started to rain. Great drops beat on the roof of the car. Dudley sniveled.**

"Brat."

"Git."

"Idiot."

"Alright, just let Alicia read." Harry said, shaking his head. "You all can insult Dudley later."

"You know they'll take you up on that right?" Ron asked. 

"They're your brothers Ron. I _know_ they will."

" **It's Monday," he told his mother. "The Great Humberto's on tonight. I want to stay somewhere with a** _ **television**_ **."**

**Monday. This reminded Harry of something. If it** _**was** _ **Monday — and you could usually count on Dudley to know the days the week, because of television — then tomorrow, Tuesday, was Harry's eleventh birthday.**

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY HARRY!" the twins shouted. Oliver glared at both of them; somehow they'd gotten next to him so it was his ear they were shouting in.

"I will silence you," Cedric promised,"if you don't be quiet."

**Of course, his birthdays were never exactly fun — last year, the Dursleys had given him a coat hanger and a pair of Uncle Vernon's old socks.**

The reminder of the Dursleys mistreatment of Harry brought back the muttered threats of pranking and pain.

"Big bash for his next one right?" Ron asked the twins.

"You bet."

**Still, you weren't eleven every day.**

**Uncle Vernon was back and he was smiling.**

"Was it painful, like his other one?" Fred asked.

"Actually, it was creepy." Harry said with a small shudder.

**He was also carrying a long, thin package and didn't answer Aunt Petunia when she asked what he'd bought.**

" **Found the perfect place!" he said. "Come on! Everyone out!"**

**It was very cold outside the car. Uncle Vernon was pointing at what looked like a large rock way out at sea. Perched on top of the rock was the most miserable little shack you could imagine. One thing was certain, there was no television in there.**

" **Storm forecast for tonight!" said Uncle Vernon gleefully, clapping his hands together. "And this gentleman's kindly agreed to lend us his boat!"**

**A toothless old man came ambling up to them, pointing, with a rather wicked grin, at an old rowboat bobbing in the iron-gray water below them.**

" **I've already got us some rations," said Uncle Vernon, "so all aboard!"**

**It was freezing in the boat. Icy sea spray and rain crept down their necks and a chilly wind whipped their faces. After what seemed like hours they reached the rock, where Uncle Vernon, slipping and sliding, led the way to the broken-down house.**

**The inside was horrible; it smelled strongly of seaweed, the wind whistled through the gaps in the wooden walls, and the fireplace was damp and empty. There were only two rooms.**

**Uncle Vernon's rations turned out to be a bag of chips each and four bananas.**

**He tried to start a fire but the empty chip bags just smoked and shriveled up.**

" **Could do with some of those letters now, eh?" he said cheerfully.**

"He is an idiot," Oliver muttered darkly. Under Cho and Cedric's breath the words 'I can't curse them for being idiotic gits' could be heard. Harry scooted away from them, a little scared.

**He was in a very good mood. Obviously he thought nobody stood a chance of reaching them here in a storm to deliver mail.**

**Harry privately agreed, though the thought didn't cheer him up at all.**

"Pessimistic much?" George asked.

"Wow, big word George," Hermione teased.

**As night fell, the promised storm blew up around them. Spray from the high waves splattered the walls of the hut and a fierce wind rattled the filthy windows. Aunt Petunia found a few moldy blankets in the second room and made up a bed for Dudley on the moth-eaten sofa. She and Uncle Vernon went off to the lumpy bed next door, and Harry was left to find the softest bit of floor he could and to curl up under the thinnest, most ragged blanket.**

"What!" the girls all yelled.

"Are they going to do that every time they dislike what the Dursleys do?" Harry asked Ron.

"Get used to it mate. I think the twins are planning more than one prank on your _relatives_." Ron spat out the last word.

**The storm raged more and more ferociously as the night went on. Harry couldn't sleep. He shivered and turned over, trying to get comfortable, his stomach rumbling with hunger. Dudley's snores were drowned by the low rolls of thunder that started near midnight. The lighted dial of Dudley's watch, which was dangling over the edge of the sofa on his fat wrist, told Harry he'd be eleven in ten minutes' time. He lay and watched his birthday tick nearer, wondering if the Dursleys would remember at all, wondering where the letter writer was now.**

**Five minutes to go. Harry heard something creak outside. He hoped the roof wasn't going to fall in, although he might be warmer if it did.**

**Four minutes to go. Maybe the house in Privet Drive would be so full of letters when they got back that he'd be able to steal one somehow.**

**Three minutes to go. Was that the sea, slapping hard on the rock like that? And (two minutes to go) what was that funny crunching noise? Was the rock crumbling into the sea?**

**One minute to go and he'd be eleven. Thirty seconds… twenty… ten… nine — maybe he'd wake Dudley up, just to annoy him**

"Do it, do it, do it." Ron chanted.

— **three… two… one…**

**BOOM.**

"Oh come on Alicia!" Fred pouted. "You've got to shout."

"No." Alicia said with a smirk.

**The whole shack shivered and Harry sat bolt upright, staring at the door. Someone was outside, knocking to come in.**

"That's the end of the chapter." Alicia said. "Fred, you're next."

"Alright." Fred said, taking the book. "The next chapter is called 'The Keeper of the Keys.' Hey, that sounds familiar."

"Read!" Everyone urged.


	4. Chapter 4

" **The Keeper of the Keys,"** Fred read.

**BOOM.**

Everyone jumped as Fred had shouted the word. Katie and Alicia glared at him.

**They knocked again. Dudley jerked awake.**

" **Where's the cannon?" he said stupidly.**

"What's a cannon?" Oliver asked.

"A long, round tube which muggles use in war." Hermione explained.

**There was a crash behind them and Uncle Vernon came skidding into the room. He was holding a rifle in his hands .Now they knew what had been in the long, thin package he had brought with them.**

"A gun?" Hermione screamed. "For Merlin's sake, despite the fact that he doesn't give a care about you you'd think he'd think before bringing something dangerous around his own kid!"

"Breathe Hermione," Ron told her. "And what's a gun?"

"A muggle version of the killing curse." Katie said softly.

" **Who's there?" he shouted. "I warn you — I'm armed!"**

**There was a pause. Then —**

**SMASH!**

"Fred, you do not need to shout!" Katie shouted.

"Yes I do. It's more fun that way."

**The door was hit with such force that it swung clean off its hinges and with a deafening crash landed flat on the floor.**

**A giant of a man**

"Hagrid!" everyone in the room sighed. The book was becoming much more enjoyable.

**was standing in the doorway. His face was almost completely hidden by a long, shaggy mane of hair and a wild, tangled beard, but you could make out his eyes, glinting like black beetles under all the hair.**

**The giant squeezed his way into the hut, stooping so that his head just brushed the ceiling. He bent down, picked up the door, and fitted it easily back into its frame. The noise of the storm outside dropped a little. He turned to look at them all.**

" **Couldn't make us a cup o' tea, could yeh? It's not been an easy journey…"**

"Only Hagrid," Cedric said with a shake of his head.

**He strode over to the sofa where Dudley sat frozen with fear.**

" **Budge up, yeh great lump," said the stranger.**

"Go Hagrid!" the twins shouted.

**Dudley squeaked and ran to hide behind his mother, who was crouching, terrified, behind Uncle Vernon.**

"Like that would work," Cho scoffed.

" **An' here's Harry!" said the giant.**

"The only one in that room who's not insane!" Oliver said with a grin.

"You mean besides Hagrid?" 

"I said what I said!" 

**Harry looked up into the fierce, wild, shadowy face and saw that the beetle eyes were crinkled in a smile.**

" **Las' time I saw you, you was only a baby," said the giant. "Yeh look a lot like yer dad, but yeh've got yer mom's eyes."**

"You know, it was nice at first but now it's getting annoying," Harry sighed.

**Uncle Vernon made a funny rasping noise.**

" **I demand that you leave at once, sir!" he said. "You are breaking and entering!"**

"Like that would stop Hagrid," Alicia said, rolling her eyes.

"Like Hagrid would care," Angelina added on.

" **Ah, shut up, Dursley, yeh great prune," said the giant;**

The entire room filled up once more with laughter.

**he reached over the back of the sofa, jerked the gun out of Uncle Vernon's hands, bent it into a knot as easily as if it had been made of rubber, and threw it into a corner of the room.**

"The looks on their faces were priceless," Harry said with a huge smile.

"I bet they were," Fred said. He and George were still planning a prank for Harry's uncle, aunt and cousin.

**Uncle Vernon made another funny noise, like a mouse being trodden on.**

" **Anyway — Harry," said the giant, turning his back on the Dursleys, "a very happy birthday to yeh. Got summat fer yeh here — I mighta sat on it at some point, but it'll taste all right."**

"NO!" Cedric, the twins, Katie, Alicia and Oliver yelled. "Don't eat it!"

They'd enough experience with Hagrid's cooking to know that it would not be a nice cake.

**From an inside pocket of his black overcoat he pulled a slightly squashed box. Harry opened it with trembling fingers. Inside was a large, sticky chocolate cake with** _**Happy Birthday Harry** _ **written on it in green icing.**

"Oh, that's so sweet!" Alicia cooed. Harry flushed a Weasley red as every one chuckled.

"Alicia, you're talking to a book again." Katie told her friend.

**Harry looked up at the giant. He meant to say thank you, but the words got lost on the way to his mouth, and what he said instead was, "Who are you?"**

"Ron much, Harry?" Hermione giggled.

"No. Ron would have just eaten the cake." Harry said with a roll of his eyes.

"OI! I'm _right_ here."

**The giant chuckled.**

" **True, I haven't introduced meself. Rubeus Hagrid, Keeper of Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts."**

**He held out an enormous hand and shook Harry's whole arm.**

"He always does that," Oliver said, rubbing his arm. "Doesn't know his own strength."

" **What about that tea then, eh?" he said, rubbing his hands together. "I'd not say no ter summat stronger if yeh've got it, mind."**

"Hagrid!" Cho scolded. "Don't drink around children."

"Ummm? Cho?" Cedric asked. "You know you're talking to a book, right?"

**His eyes fell on the empty grate with the shriveled chip bags in it and he snorted. He bent down over the fireplace; they couldn't see what he was doing but when he drew back a second later, there was a roaring fire there.**

"Wasn't he expelled?" Fred asked.

"How do you know that?" Ron asked.

"He told me. Wait, how do you know that?"

"Harry told me."

**It filled the whole damp hut with flickering light and Harry felt the warmth wash over him as though he'd sunk into a hot bath.**

**The giant sat back down on the sofa, which sagged under his weight, and began taking all sorts of things out of the pockets of his coat:**

"How much can those pocket hold?" Katie asked.

"A lot." Alicia answered.

"Rhetorical." Katie told her friend.

**a copper kettle, a squashy package of sausages, a poker, a teapot, several chipped mugs, and a bottle of some amber liquid that he took a swig from before starting to make tea.**

Hagrid," Cedric shook his head in amusement.

**Soon the hut was full of the sound and smell of sizzling sausage. Nobody said a thing while the giant was working, but as he slid the first six fat, juicy, slightly burnt sausages from the poker, Dudley fidgeted a little. Uncle Vernon said sharply, "Don't touch anything he gives you, Dudley."**

"Why would Hagrid give him anything?" Ron asked. "Harry needs it more."

**The giant chuckled darkly.**

" **Yer great puddin' of a son don' need fattenin' anymore, Dursley, don' worry." He passed the sausages to Harry, who was so hungry he had never tasted anything so wonderful, but he still couldn't take his eyes off the giant. Finally, as nobody seemed about to explain anything, he said, "I'm sorry, but I still don't really know who you are."**

"There are those famous manners," Hermione said.

"Shut it Hermione." Harry muttered, blushing.

**The giant took a gulp of tea and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.**

" **Call me Hagrid," he said, "everyone does. An' like I told yeh, I'm Keeper of Keys at Hogwarts — yeh'll know all about Hogwarts, o' course.**

"Hagrid won't like that." Fred said with a grin..

" **Er — no," said Harry.**

**Hagrid looked shocked.**

" **Sorry," Harry said quickly.**

"Don't. It's not your fault." Angelina told him.

" _ **Sorry**_ **?" barked Hagrid, turning to stare at the Dursleys, who shrank back into the shadows. "It's them as should be sorry! I knew yeh weren't gettin' yer letters but I never thought yeh wouldn't even know abou' Hogwarts, fer cryin' out loud! Did yeh never wonder where yer parents learned it all?"**

" **All what?" asked Harry.**

" **ALL WHAT?" Hagrid thundered.**

"Fred!" Angelina jumped. "You don't need to yell."

"But it's in all capital letters." Fred pouted.

" **Now wait jus' one second!"**

**He had leapt to his feet. In his anger he seemed to fill the whole hut. The Dursleys were cowering against the wall.**

" **Do you mean ter tell me," he growled at the Dursleys, "that this boy — this boy! — knows nothin' abou' — about ANYTHING?"**

"Harry knows some stuff!" Ron came to the defense of his friend.

"Yeah, like how to cream the Slytherins at Quidditch," Oliver beamed with pride.

**Harry thought this was going a bit far. He had been to school, after all, and his marks weren't bad.**

"I think Harry agrees with Ron," Hermione said with a wry smile.

" **I know** _ **some**_ **things," he said. "I can, you know, do math and stuff."**

**But Hagrid simply waved his hand and said, "About** _**our** _ **world, I mean.** _**Your** _ **world.** _**My** _ **world.** _**Yer parents' world** _ **."**

"Which you would know _nothing_ about," Cho said sadly.

" **What world?"**

**Hagrid looked as if he was about to explode.**

"Yay! Hagrid's gonna get really mad," George said in excitement.

" **DURSLEY!" he boomed.**

**Uncle Vernon, who had gone very pale, whispered something that sounded like "Mimblewimble."**

"Is that even a word?" Cedric asked Cho.

"No."

**Hagrid stared wildly at Harry. "But yeh must know about yer mom and dad," he said. "I mean, they're** _**famous** _ **. You're** _**famous** _ **."**

"Well," Oliver said. "James Potter was the best Chaser known to Hogwarts until Angelina."

"Somehow, I don't think that's what he meant." Alicia said dryly.

" **What? My — my mom and dad weren't famous, were they?"**

" **Yeh don' know… yeh don' know…" Hagrid ran his fingers through his hair, fixing Harry with a bewildered stare.**

" **Yeh don' know what yeh** _ **are**_ **?" he said finally.**

**Uncle Vernon suddenly found his voice.**

" **Stop!" he commanded. "Stop right there, sir! I forbid you to tell the boy anything!"**

**A braver man than Vernon Dursley would have quailed under the furious look Hagrid now gave him; when Hagrid spoke, his every syllable trembled with rage.**

Ron and Hermione winced with Harry, knowing how angry Hagrid could get.

" **You never told him? Never told him what was in the letter Dumbledore left fer him? I was there! I saw Dumbledore leave it, Dursley! An' you've kept it from him all these years?"**

"What was in that blasted letter?" Ron asked angrily.

" **Kept** _ **what**_ **from me?" said Harry eagerly.**

" **STOP! I FORBID YOU!" yelled Uncle Vernon in panic.**

**Aunt Petunia gave a gasp of horror.**

"Dramatic much?" Katie muttered.

" **Ah, go boil yer heads, both of yeh," said Hagrid. "Harry — yer a wizard."**

"Oh, please do. Listen to Hagrid and boil your heads." the twins nodded their heads.

**There was silence inside the hut. Only the sea and the whistling wind could be heard.**

" **I'm a** _ **what**_ **?" gasped Harry.**

"Great reaction mate."

"Shut it Ron."

" **A wizard, o' course," said Hagrid, sitting back down on the sofa, which groaned and sank even lower, "an' a thumpin' good 'un, I'd say, once yeh've been trained up a bit. With a mum an' dad like yours, what else would yeh be? An' I reckon it's abou' time yeh read yer letter."**

**Harry stretched out his hand at last to take the yellowish envelope, addressed in emerald green to** _**Mr. H. Potter, The Floor, Hut-on-the-Rock, The Sea.** _ **He pulled out the letter and read:**

_**HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY** _

_**Headmaster: ALBUS DUMBLEDORE** _

_**(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)** _

_**Dear Mr. Potter,** _

_**We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.** _

_**Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31.** _

_**Yours sincerely,** _

_**Minerva McGonagall,** _

_**Deputy Headmistress** _

"Does it ever change?" Cedric asked.

"Probably the name," Cho told him. He flushed at how obvious that should have been.

**Questions exploded inside Harry's head like fireworks and he couldn't decide which to ask first. After a few minutes he stammered, "What does it mean, they await my owl?"**

"Out of all of the possible questions, you ask about the way they would receive your letter?" Hermione asked.

"It was the last thing I read."

" **Gallopin' Gorgons, that reminds me," said Hagrid, clapping a hand to his forehead with enough force to knock over a cart horse, and from yet another pocket inside his overcoat he pulled an owl — a real, live, rather ruffled-looking owl**

"That poor owl," Hermione gasped.

"Actually it was fine. Maybe a little annoyed, but fine." Harry assured her.

— **a long quill, and a roll of parchment. With his tongue between his teeth he scribbled a note that Harry could read upside down:**

_**Dear Professor Dumbledore,** _

_**Given Harry his letter.** _

_**Taking him to buy his things tomorrow.** _

_**Weather's horrible. Hope you're well.** _

_**Hagrid** _

"Doesn't beat around the bush, does he?" Cedric said in amusement.

**Hagrid rolled up the note, gave it to the owl, which clamped it in its beak, went to the door, and threw the owl out into the storm. Then he came back and sat down as though this was as normal as talking on the telephone.**

"A what?" Cedric asked.

"Muggle form of communication," Harry told him.

**Harry realized his mouth was open and closed it quickly.**

" **Where was I?" said Hagrid, but at that moment, Uncle Vernon, still ashen-faced but looking very angry, moved into the firelight.**

" **He's not going," he said.**

"Yes, he is!" the twins shouted.

"I wonder what would have happened if I didn't," Harry whispered to Ron.

"Dumbledore probably would have sent a search party out for you."

**Hagrid grunted.**

" **I'd like ter see a great Muggle like you stop him," he said.**

" **A what?" said Harry, interested.**

" **A Muggle," said Hagrid, "it's what we call nonmagic folk like them. An' it's your bad luck you grew up in a family o' the biggest Muggles I ever laid eyes on."**

"Wooo! Go Hagrid!"

" **We swore when we took him in we'd put a stop to that rubbish," said Uncle Vernon, "swore we'd stamp it out of him! Wizard indeed!"**

The entire room seemed to turn to ice. They all, except for Harry (who was attempting to find a way to disappear) were glaring at the book.

" **You** _ **knew**_ **?" said Harry. "You** _ **knew**_ **I'm a — a wizard?"**

"Now we see some more of why Harry's a Gryffindor!"

" **Knew!" shrieked Aunt Petunia suddenly. "** _ **Knew**_ **! Of course we knew! How could you not be, my dratted sister being what she was?** **Oh, she got a letter just like that and disappeared off to that — that** _ **school**_ **— and came home every vacation with her pockets full of frog spawn, turning teacups into rats.**

"Your mum was cool!" The twins shouted.

Everyone else was glaring at the book, even Harry.

**But for my mother and father, oh no, it was Lily this and Lily that, they were proud of having a witch in the family!"**

"As they should be!" Hermione said, puffing out her chest.

**She stopped to draw a deep breath and then went ranting on. It seemed she had been wanting to say all this for years.**

"Probably had," Harry muttered.

" **Then she met that Potter at school and they left and got married and had you, and of course I knew you'd be just the same, just as strange, just as — as —** _ **abnormal**_ — **and then, if you please, she went and got herself blown up and we got landed with you!"**

"You know—"

"—Harry's not thick—"

"—he'd catch the lie." The twins said.

"Oh, thank you." Harry said dryly. "It's always nice to know I'm not thick."

**Harry had gone very white. As soon as he found his voice he said, "Blown up? You told me they died in a car crash!"**

" **CAR CRASH!" roared Hagrid, jumping up so angrily that the Dursleys scuttled back to their corner. "How could a car crash kill Lily an' James Potter? It's an outrage! A scandal! Harry Potter not knowin' his own story when every kid in our world knows his name!"**

"Fred! Shouting is not necessary." Oliver said, rubbing his ear. "And how'd you'd manage to yell into my ear this time?"

"Talent."

"I hate my fame," Harry muttered.

" **But why? What happened?" Harry asked urgently.**

**The anger faded from Hagrid's face. He looked suddenly anxious.**

" **I never expected this," he said, in a low, worried voice. "I had no idea, when Dumbledore told me there might be trouble gettin' hold of yeh, how much yeh didn't know. Ah, Harry, I don' know if I'm the right person ter tell yeh — but someone's gotta — yeh can't go off ter Hogwarts not knowin'."**

"It would have been so funny if you hadn't." George chuckled.

"No, it wouldn't have." Hermione said with a glare.

**He threw a dirty look at the Dursleys.**

" **Well, it's best yeh know as much as I can tell yeh — mind, I can't tell yeh everythin', it's a great myst'ry, parts of it…"**

**He sat down, stared into the fire for a few seconds, and then said, "It begins, I suppose, with — with a person called — but it's incredible yeh don't know his name, everyone in our world knows —"**

" **Who?"**

" **Well — I don' like sayin' the name if I can help it. No one does."**

" **Why not?"**

" **Gulpin' gargoyles, Harry, people are still scared. Blimey, this is difficult. See, there was this wizard who went… bad. As bad as you could go. Worse. Worse than worse. His name was…"**

**Hagrid gulped, but no words came out.**

" **Could you write it down?" Harry suggested.**

" **Nah — can't spell it. All right —** _ **Voldemort**_ **. "**

"You got Hagrid to say the name?" Cedric asked, amazed.

"Yep. Oh for Merlin's sake." Harry sighed when they all flinched. "It's just a name."

**Hagrid shuddered. "Don' make me say it again. Anyway, this — this wizard, about twenty years ago now, started lookin' fer followers. Got 'em, too — some were afraid, some just wanted a bit o' his power, 'cause he was gettin' himself power, all right. Dark days, Harry. Didn't know who ter trust, didn't dare get friendly with strange wizards or witches… terrible things happened. He was takin' over. 'Course, some stood up to him — an' he killed 'em. Horribly. One o' the only safe places left was Hogwarts. Reckon Dumbledore's the only one You-Know-Who was afraid of. Didn't dare try takin' the school, not jus' then, anyway.**

" **Now, yer mum an' dad were as good a witch an' wizard as I ever knew. Head boy an' girl at Hogwarts in their day! Suppose the myst'ry is why You-Know-Who never tried to get 'em on his side before… probably knew they were too close ter Dumbledore ter want anythin' ter do with the Dark Side.**

Hermione snorted with laughter.

"Ummm? Mate?" Ron asked, worridly. Katie, though, got what she was laughing about.

"Star Wars reference?" she asked.

"Saw it a time or two with my parents," Hermione told her.

" **Maybe he thought he could persuade 'em… maybe he just wanted 'em outta the way. All anyone knows is, he turned up in the village where you was all living, on Halloween ten years ago. You was just a year old. He came ter yer house an' — an' —"**

Harry stiffened. Ron wrapped an arm around his mate, and nodded to Fred to continue. It'd be best to read that part as quickly as possible.

**Hagrid suddenly pulled out a very dirty, spotted handkerchief and blew his nose with a sound like a foghorn.**

" **Sorry," he said. "But it's that sad — knew yer mum an' dad, an' nicer people yeh couldn't find — anywa…**

Everyone in the room smiled sadly. Even Hermione, whose parents hadn't known the Potters. She smiled sadly at the fact that her friend had to live without ever knowing his parents.

" **You-Know-Who killed 'em. An' then — an' this is the real myst'ry of the thing — he tried to kill you, too. Wanted ter make a clean job of it, I suppose, or maybe he just liked killin' by then. But he couldn't do it. Never wondered how you got that mark on yer forehead? That was no ordinary cut. That's what yeh get when a powerful, evil curse touches yeh — took care of yer mum an' dad an' yer house, even — but it didn't work on you, an' that's why yer famous, Harry.**

"Did I mention I hate my fame?" Harry called out.

**No one ever lived after he decided ter kill 'em, no one except you, an' he'd killed some o' the best witches an' wizards of the age — the McKinnons, the Bones, the Prewetts**

The twins and Ron stiffened at the mention of the Prewetts.

"Fred? Are you alright?" Angelina asked.

"They were mum's brothers," Ron answered for his brother in a thick voice. Everyone gasped. Harry threw an arm around Ron in a one armed hug, and Hermione did the same. Katie had silent tears running down her face; how many families had that monster managed to destroy?

"Oh, I'm so sorry," Alicia told them.

"From what mum told us when we were older, they died heroes," George said with a watery grin.

— **an' you was only a baby, an' you lived."**

**Something very painful was going on in Harry's mind. As Hagrid's story came to a close, he saw again the blinding flash of green light, more clearly than he had ever remembered it before — and he remembered something else, for the first time in his life: a high, cold, cruel laugh.**

"You remember _that?_ " Cedric asked and Cho whacked him over the head.

"Insensitive wart," she muttered.

**Hagrid was watching him sadly.**

" **Took yeh from the ruined house myself, on Dumbledore's orders. Brought yeh ter this lot…."**

" **Load of old tosh," said Uncle Vernon. Harry jumped; he had almost forgotten that the Dursleys were there. Uncle Vernon certainly seemed to have got back his courage. He was glaring at Hagrid and his fists were clenched.**

"Did he have to speak?" Oliver moaned. "I hate listening to his voice."

"So do I, Oliver. So do I." Harry nodded in agreement.

" **Now, you listen here, boy," he snarled, "I accept there's something strange about you,probably nothing a good beating wouldn't have cured**

"He better not have touched you," Hermione, Katie, Alicia and Angelina growled.

"No, he didn't." Harry was quick to reassure them. "My aunt wouldn't let him."

**and as for all this about your parents, well, they were weirdoes, no denying it, and the world's better off without them in my opinion**

"HOW DARE HE?" Alicia shouted.

"Can we please prank him?" the twins begged Harry.

"Since when did you need my permission?" he asked.

"Since we want to make sure we don't get in trouble with Mum."

— **asked for all they got, getting mixed up with these wizarding types — just what I expected, always knew they'd come to a sticky end -"**

**But at that moment, Hagrid leapt from the sofa and drew a battered pink umbrella from inside his coat.**

"Pink?" Oliver raised an eyebrow.

"It takes a real man to pull off wearing pink," Katie huffed.

"Unless it clashes with his hair, of course." Cho said. She'd seen the looks on the twins faces, and although she hadn't known them for long, she didn't like what that meant.

**Pointing this at Uncle Vernon like a sword, he said, "I'm warning you, Dursley — I'm warning you — one more word…"**

**In danger of being speared on the end of an umbrella by a bearded giant, Uncle Vernon's courage failed again; he flattened himself against the wall and fell silent.**

" **That's better," said Hagrid, breathing heavily and sitting back down on the sofa, which this time sagged right down to the floor.**

**Harry, meanwhile, still had questions to ask, hundreds of them.**

" **But what happened to Vol-, sorry — I mean, You-Know-Who?"**

"Good, don't say the name," Cedric sighed in relief.

"It's _just_ a name," Harry growled in annoyance.

" **Good question, Harry. Disappeared. Vanished. Same night he tried ter kill you. Makes yeh even more famous. That's the biggest myst'ry, see… he was gettin' more an' more powerful — why'd he go?**

" **Some say he died. Codswallop, in my opinion. Dunno if he had enough human left in him to die.**

"No, he's dead." Oliver said with a nod of his head.

"You know, I think he's still alive." Harry said with a smirk to Ron and Hermione.

"Oh yeah?" Oliver said. "How much you want to bet?"

"Five galleons."

"You're on."

**Some say he's still out there, bidin' his time, like, but I don' believe it. People who was on his side came back ter ours. Some of 'em came outta kinda trances. Don' reckon they could've done if he was comin' back.**

" **Most of us reckon he's still out there somewhere but lost his powers. Too weak to carry on. 'Cause somethin' about you finished him, Harry. There was somethin' goin' on that night he hadn't counted on —** _ **I**_ **dunno what it was, no one does** — **but somethin' about you stumped him, all right."**

**Hagrid looked at Harry with warmth and respect blazing in his eyes, but Harry, instead of feeling pleased and proud, felt quite sure there had been a horrible mistake.**

"Nope. No mistake." Fred said, his voice thick with amusement.

**A wizard? Him? How could he possibly be? He'd spent his life being clouted by Dudley, and bullied by Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon; if he was really a wizard, why hadn't they been turned into warty toads every time they'd tried to lock him in his cupboard? If he'd once defeated the greatest sorcerer in the world, how come Dudley had always been able to kick him around like a football?**

"Because it doesn't work like that." Cho said chuckling a little.

"Hey, Albus Dumbledore is the greatest sorcerer in the world," Oliver glared at the book.

"I knew nothing about the magical world Oliver. Excuse me for a thought I had when I was eleven."

" **Hagrid," he said quietly, "I think you must have made a mistake. I don't think I can be a wizard."**

"Harry Potter?"

"Not a wizard?" the twins gasped.

"How can that be?" Ron joined in with the laughter.

"Yeah, yeah." Harry growled.

**To his surprise, Hagrid chuckled.**

" **Not a wizard, eh? Never made things happen when you was scared or angry?"**

**Harry looked into the fire. Now he came to think about it… every odd thing that had ever made his aunt and uncle furious with him had happened when he, Harry, had been upset or angry… chased by Dudley's gang, he had somehow found himself out of their reach… dreading going to school with that ridiculous haircut, he'd managed to make it grow back… and the very last time Dudley had hit him, hadn't he got his revenge, without even realizing he was doing it? Hadn't he set a boa constrictor on him?**

"Umm, technically. You set him free." Hermione said.

"Details, details." Harry said with a wave of his hand.

"We couldn't be more proud," George said with a big grin.

**Harry looked back at Hagrid, smiling, and saw that Hagrid was positively beaming at him.**

" **See?" said Hagrid. "Harry Potter, not a wizard — you wait, you'll be right famous at Hogwarts."**

"And I wish I wasn't," Harry muttered.

**But Uncle Vernon wasn't going to give in without a fight.**

" **Haven't I told you he's not going?" he hissed. "He's going to Stonewall High and he'll be grateful for it. I've read those letters and he needs all sorts of rubbish — spell books and wands and —"**

" **If he wants ter go, a great Muggle like you won't stop him," growled Hagrid. "Stop Lily an' James Potter's son goin' ter Hogwarts! Yer mad. His name's been down ever since he was born.**

**He's off ter the finest school of witchcraft and wizardry in the world. Seven years there and he won't know himself. He'll be with youngsters of his own sort, fer a change, an' he'll be under the greatest headmaster Hogwarts ever had Albus Dumbled—"**

" **I AM NOT PAYING FOR SOME CRACKPOT OLD FOOL TO TEACH HIM MAGIC TRICKS!" yelled Uncle Vernon.**

"You're uncle's in for it now," Fred said with a wicked grin.

"Never insult Dumbledore in front of Hagrid," George had the same grin on his face.

**But he had finally gone too far. Hagrid seized his umbrella and whirled it over his head, "NEVER —" he thundered, "— INSULT — ALBUS — DUMBLEDORE — IN — FRONT — OF — ME!" He brought the umbrella swishing down through the air to point at Dudley — there was a flash of violet light, a sound like a firecracker, a sharp squeal, and the next second, Dudley was dancing on the spot with his hands clasped over his fat bottom, howling in pain. When he turned his back on them, Harry saw a curly pig's tail poking through a hole in his trousers.**

There was a brief moment of silence. Then Oliver began to chuckle. It was like a wall broke after that, and everyone burst out in laughter. Tears ran down the twins' faces, Katie and Alicia were grabbing their sides.

"We've got to find a way to thank Hagrid for that," Ron told Harry.

"You're right," Harry grinned back.

**Uncle Vernon roared. Pulling Aunt Petunia and Dudley into the other room, he cast one last terrified look at Hagrid and slammed the door behind them.**

"Coward," Cho said, but it wasn't as menacing as it might have been. Her voice was still light from the recent bout of laughter she'd just gone through.

**Hagrid looked down at his umbrella and stroked his beard.**

" **Shouldn'ta lost me temper," he said ruefully, "but it didn't work anyway. Meant ter turn him into a pig, but I suppose he was so much like a pig anyway there wasn't much left ter do."**

**He cast a sideways look at Harry under his bushy eyebrows.**

" **Be grateful if yeh didn't mention that ter anyone at Hogwarts," he said. "I'm — er — not supposed ter do magic, strictly speakin'. I was allowed ter do a bit ter follow yeh an' get yer letters to yeh an' stuff — one o' the reasons I was so keen ter take on the job."**

"Darn it," Ron muttered.

"We'll find a way to thank him," Harry told his friend.

"I know!" Fred exclaimed. "When we're out of here, let's prank Lockheart!"

That idea brought glares from all the girls and nods from all the guys.

"Weren't we going to do that anyway?" George asked.

"Yeah. But now we have a purpose."

" **Why aren't you supposed to do magic?" asked Harry.**

" **Oh, well — I was at Hogwarts meself but I — er — got expelled, ter tell yeh the truth. In me third year. They snapped me wand in half an' everything. But Dumbledore let me stay on as gamekeeper. Great man, Dumbledore."**

" **Why were you expelled?"**

"He won't tell you." Fred said, shaking his head. "Believe me, I tried."

" **It's gettin' late and we've got lots ter do tomorrow," said Hagrid loudly. "Gotta get up ter town, get all yer books an' that."**

**He took off his thick black coat and threw it to Harry.**

" **You can kip under that," he said. "Don' mind if it wriggles a bit, I think I still got a couple o' doormice in one o' the pockets."**

"That's the end of the chapter." Fred said. "Now, someone said something about food?"

There was a flash of light and out of it stood an old creature with bat like ears and was wearing a toga.

"Kreature is to be bringing young masters and mistresses food," the elf said with a snap of his fingers. Everyone looked down and saw some of their favorite things. After breakfast, the elf snapped his fingers once more and the dishes disappeared.

"Kreature will be back around lunch time, or once the person who had just read reads again."

There was another flash of light and when it was gone, so was the elf.

"Well, that was odd." Ron said patting his stomach. "But Katie's next."

"Diagon Ally," she read. "Hey, this means no Dursleys."

"Read!"


	5. Chapter 5

" **Diagon Alley"** Katie read.

**Harry woke early the next morning. Although he could tell it was daylight, he kept his eyes shut tight.**

_**It was a dream,** _ **he told himself firmly.** _**I dreamed a giant called Hagrid came to tell me I was going to a school for wizards. When I open my eyes I'll be at home in my cupboard.** _

At the mention of the cupboard, Katie, Angelina, Alicia and the twins growled at the book.

**There was suddenly a loud tapping noise.**

_**And there's Aunt Petunia knocking on the door**_ **, Harry thought, his heart sinking.**.

"Wow, you're really pessimistic," Oliver said with a frown.

"Maybe everyone else is just really optimistic," Harry retorted.

**But he still didn't open his eyes. It had been such a good dream.**

**Tap. Tap. Tap.**

" **All right," Harry mumbled, "I'm getting up."**

**He sat up and Hagrid's heavy coat fell off him. The hut was full of sunlight, the storm was over, Hagrid himself was asleep on the collapsed sofa, and there was an owl rapping its claw on the window, a newspaper held in its beak.**

**Harry scrambled to his feet, so happy he felt as though a large balloon was swelling inside him. He went straight to the window and jerked it open.**

**The owl swooped in and dropped the newspaper on top of Hagrid, who didn't wake up. The owl then fluttered onto the floor and began to attack Hagrid's coat.**

" **Don't do that."**

**Harry tried to wave the owl out of the way, but it snapped its beak fiercely at him and carried on savaging the coat.**

" **Hagrid!" said Harry loudly. "There's an owl —"**

"Pay him Harry," Katie said with a giggle.

"I know now," Harry rolled his eyes in annoyance.

" **Pay him," Hagrid grunted into the sofa.**

" **What?"**

"Poor Harry," Cho sighed. "He won't know how."

"I'm right here," Harry glared.

" **He wants payin' fer deliverin' the paper. Look in the pockets."**

**Hagrid's coat seemed to be made of nothing** _**but** _ **pockets — bunches of keys,**

"Why?" Harry asked. "We've got an _unlocking_ charm, for Merlin's sake."

**slug pellets, balls of string, peppermint humbugs,**

"Ugh. Those are gross," Alicia shuddered. "Who eats those?"

"The headmaster and Hagrid." Katie said.

"Rhetorical."

**teabags… finally, Harry pulled out a handful of strange-looking coins.**

" **Give him five Knuts," said Hagrid sleepily.**

"You know most wizards only have two," Fred said.

"That wasn't funny," Oliver said as most of the girls proceeded to whack him with whatever they could find. Harry offered up the beater's bat several times.

" **Knuts?"**

" **The little bronze ones."**

**Harry counted out five little bronze coins, and the owl held out his leg so Harry could put the money into a small leather pouch tied to it. Then he flew off through the open window.**

**Hagrid yawned loudly, sat up, and stretched.**

"Wait, why didn't he pay if he was getting up?" Ron asked.

"Honestly Ronald," Hermione sighed. "Hagrid wanted Harry to get used to the money."

" **Best be off, Harry, lots ter do today, gotta get up ter London an' buy all yer stuff fer school."**

**Harry was turning over the wizard coins and looking at them. He had just thought of something that made him feel as though the happy balloon inside him had got a puncture.**

" **Um — Hagrid?"**

" **Mm?" said Hagrid, who was pulling on his huge boots.**

" **I haven't got any money — and you heard Uncle Vernon last night… he won't pay for me to go and learn magic."**

"The son of James Potter, who was one of the richest wizards in the world when he died, left with nothing?" Cedric gasped from his laughing fit.

"That'd be like Malfoy not being a git," Fred said, his eyes twinkling.

" **Don't worry about that," said Hagrid, standing up and scratching his head. "D'yeh think yer parents didn't leave yeh anything?"**

" **But if their house was destroyed —"**

" **They didn' keep their gold in the house, boy! Nah, first stop fer us is Gringotts. Wizards' bank. Have a sausage, they're not bad cold — an' I wouldn' say no teh a bit o' yer birthday cake, neither."**

" **Wizards have** _ **banks**_ **?"**

"Harry, muggles have banks. Why was it so surprising to hear about wizard banks?" Hermione asked.

"I was eleven." Harry muttered. "Give me a break."

" **Just the one. Gringotts. Run by goblins."**

**Harry dropped the bit of sausage he was holding.**

" _ **Goblins**_ **?"**

"Yes Harry. No need to repeat what he just said," Fred teased.

" **Yeah — so yeh'd be mad ter try an' rob it, I'll tell yeh that. Never mess with goblins, Harry.**

"Bill tells us that every time he comes home," Fred said.

"It's about as common as mum nagging him to get a hair cut," Ron groaned.

**Gringotts is the safest place in the world fer anything yeh want ter keep safe — 'cept maybe Hogwarts. As a matter o' fact, I gotta visit Gringotts anyway. Fer Dumbledore. Hogwarts business." Hagrid drew himself up proudly. "He usually gets me ter do important stuff fer him. Fetchin' you — gettin' things from Gringotts — knows he can trust me, see."**

"Well, who doesn't trust Hagrid?" Ron asked.

"Malfoy?" Harry asked.

"Besides that git."

" **Got everythin'? Come on, then." Harry followed Hagrid out onto the rock. The sky was quite clear now and the sea gleamed in the sunlight. The boat Uncle Vernon had hired was still there, with a lot of water in the bottom after the storm.**

" **How did you get here?" Harry asked, looking around for another boat.**

" **Flew," said Hagrid.**

" _Flew_?" Katie, Hermione, Cho and Cedric asked.

" _ **Flew**_ **?"**

" **Yeah — but we'll go back in this. Not s'pposed ter use magic now I've got yeh."**

**They settled down in the boat, Harry still staring at Hagrid, trying to imagine him flying.**

"I still can't," Harry proudly admitted.

" **Seems a shame ter row, though," said Hagrid, giving Harry another of his sideways looks. "If I was ter — er — speed things up a bit, would yeh mind not mentionin' it at Hogwarts?"**

"Hagrid," Cho chuckled.

"It's Harry. Do you have to ask?" Hermione teased her friend.

" **Of course not," said Harry, eager to see more magic. Hagrid pulled out the pink umbrella again, tapped it twice on the side of the boat, and they sped off toward land.**

" **Why would you be mad to try and rob Gringotts?" Harry asked.**

" **Spells — enchantments," said Hagrid, unfolding his newspaper as he spoke. "They say there's dragons guardin' the high security vaults.**

"Anyone know if that's true?" Oliver asked.

"We'll ask Bill next time we see him," the twins said.

**And then yeh gotta find yer way — Gringotts is hundreds of miles under London, see. Deep under the Underground. Yeh'd die of hunger tryin' ter get out, even if yeh did manage ter get yer hands on summat."**

"Really? How fascinating," Hermione said, her eyes gleaming.

**Harry sat and thought about this while Hagrid read his newspaper, the** _**Daily Prophet** _ **. Harry had learned from Uncle Vernon that people liked to be left alone while they did this, but it was very difficult, he'd never had so many questions in his life.**

" **Ministry o' Magic messin' things up as usual," Hagrid muttered, turning the page.**

" **There's a Ministry of Magic?" Harry asked, before he could stop himself.**

"Harry," Alicia said, shaking her head in amusement.

"' **Course," said Hagrid. "They wanted Dumbledore fer Minister, o' course, but he'd never leave Hogwarts, so old Cornelius Fudge got the job.**

"I wonder why," Hermione said. "Dumbledore would be great."

"If he doesn't want to, that means we keep him as headmaster," Cho shrugged. "I see no harm in that."

**Bungler if ever there was one. So he pelts Dumbledore with owls every morning, askin' fer advice."**

"Fudge is an idiot," Ron muttered, but somehow the twins heard.

"Truer words were never spoken little brother."

" **But what does a Ministry of Magic** _ **do**_ **?"**

" **Well, their main job is to keep it from the Muggles that there's still witches an' wizards up an' down the country."**

" **Why?"**

" _ **Why?**_ **Blimey, Harry, everyone'd be wantin' magic solutions to their problems. Nah, we're best left alone."**

"Ain't that the truth," Oliver nodded his head.

**At this moment the boat bumped gently into the harbor wall. Hagrid folded up his newspaper, and they clambered up the stone steps onto the street.**

**Passersby stared a lot at Hagrid as they walked through the little town to the station.**

"Really?" Cedric drawled out. "I wouldn't have guessed."

**Harry couldn't blame them. Not only was Hagrid twice as tall as anyone else, he kept pointing at perfectly ordinary things like parking meters and saying loudly, "See that, Harry? Things these Muggles dream up, eh?"**

"Why was he sent?" Cedric asked.

"Most likely to scare my aunt and uncle?" Harry ventured a guess.

"Ah. Probably."

" **Hagrid," said Harry, panting a bit as he ran to keep up, "did you say there are** _ **dragons**_ **at Gringotts?"**

" **Well, so they say," said Hagrid. "Crikey, I'd like a dragon."**

"So that means he's probably going to get one in this book," Cho groaned.

"Really?" Cedric looked disbelieving. "How much you want to bet?"

"Three galleons. "

"I'm with Cedric," Oliver said. "No way."

"I'm with Cho," Hermione said with a smirk.

Ron nodded. "Me too."

"My money's with Cedric," Angelina and Alicia said.

"We're with Cho," the twins said.

"We'd have heard about a dragon," Katie said. "My money's with Cedric."

Everyone looked at Harry. "Cho," is all he said.

" **You'd** _ **like**_ **one?"**

" **Wanted one ever since I was a kid — here we go."**

**They had reached the station. There was a train to London in five minutes' time. Hagrid, who didn't understand "Muggle money," as he called it, gave the bills to Harry so he could buy their tickets.**

**People stared more than ever on the train. Hagrid took up two seats and sat knitting what looked like a canary-yellow circus tent.**

"I still don't know what that was," Harry muttered.

" **Still got yer letter, Harry?" he asked as he counted stitches.**

**Harry took the parchment envelope out of his pocket.**

" **Good," said Hagrid. "There's a list there of everything yeh need."**

**Harry unfolded a second piece of paper he hadn't noticed the night before, and read:**

_**HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY** _

_**UNIFORM** _

_**First-year students will require:** _

_**1\. Three sets of plain work robes (black)** _

_**2\. One plain pointed hat (black) for day wear** _

"Why? We only wear them once." Harry asked.

"Who knows mate?" Ron told him.

_**3\. One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)** _

_**4\. One winter cloak (black, silver fastenings)** _

_**Please note that all pupils' clothes should carry name tags** _

_**COURSE BOOKS** _

_**All students should have a copy of each of the following:** _

_**The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1)by Miranda Goshawk** _

_**A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot** _

_**Magical Theory by Adalbert Waffling** _

_**A Beginners' Guide to Transfiguration by Emeric Switch** _

_**One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi by Phyllida Spore** _

_**Magical Drafts and Potions by Arsenius Jigger** _

_**Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander** _

_**The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection by Quentin Trimble** _

"Any one notice that the names of the authors are similar to the topic they're on?" Cho asked.

"I did, but I thought it was common in the magical world," Hermione said.

_**OTHER EQUIPMENT** _

_**1 wand** _

_**1 cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)** _

_**1 set of glass or crystal phials** _

_**1 telescope set** _

_**1 brass scales** _

_**Students may also bring an owl OR a cat OR a toad** _

_**PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICKS** _

"Hate that rule," the twins muttered.

"I'm glad they bent that rule. We might not have gotten Harry otherwise," Oliver said, a big grin on his face.

" **Can we buy all this in London?" Harry wondered aloud.**

" **If yeh know where to go," said Hagrid.**

**Harry had never been to London before. Although Hagrid seemed to know where he was going, he was obviously not used to getting there in an ordinary way. He got stuck in the ticket barrier on the Underground, and complained loudly that the seats were too small and the trains too slow.**

"I think Hagrid's too big." Hermione chuckled.

" **I don't know how the Muggles manage without magic," he said as they climbed a broken-down escalator that led up to a bustling road lined with shops.**

**Hagrid was so huge that he parted the crowd easily; all Harry had to do was keep close behind him. They passed book shops and music stores, hamburger restaurants and cinemas, but nowhere that looked as if it could sell you a magic wand. This was just an ordinary street full of ordinary people. Could there really be piles of wizard gold buried miles beneath them? Were there really shops that sold spell books and broomsticks? Might this not all be some huge joke that the Dursleys had cooked up?**

"Mate, this would be one elaborate joke." Ron said.

"Yeah, and also, why would they spend all that money? Didn't they not give a care about you?" Fred asked.

"I was eleven and I was leaving the Dursleys for the first time. What would you think?"

"Happy Days are here again!" All three Weasley boys cheered.

**If Harry hadn't known that the Dursleys had no sense of humor, he might have thought so; yet somehow, even though everything Hagrid had told him so far was unbelievable, Harry couldn't help trusting him.**

"He does have that aura around him doesn't he?" Hermione grinned.

"Yeah," Harry smiled.

" **This is it," said Hagrid, coming to a halt, "the Leaky Cauldron. It's a famous place."**

"Harry's a famous bloke at a famous place," Ron chuckled. "It might just have increased in fame."

"Ron, that made no sense." Fred said with a grin. "We're proud to call you our brother."

**It was a tiny, grubby-looking pub. If Hagrid hadn't pointed it out, Harry wouldn't have noticed it was there. The people hurrying by didn't glance at it. Their eyes slid from the big book shop on one side to the record shop on the other as if they couldn't see the Leaky Cauldron at all. In fact, Harry had the most peculiar feeling that only he and Hagrid could see it.**

"Smart Harry," Alicia giggled.

"I was new to the whole magic thing." Harry protested.

**Before he could mention this, Hagrid had steered him inside.**

**For a famous place, it was very dark and shabby. A few old women were sitting in a corner, drinking tiny glasses of sherry. One of them was smoking a long pipe. A little man in a top hat was talking to the old bartender, who was quite bald and looked like a toothless walnut. The low buzz of chatter stopped when they walked in. Everyone seemed to know Hagrid; they waved and smiled at him, and the bartender reached for a glass, saying, "The usual, Hagrid?"**

" **Can't, Tom, I'm on Hogwarts business," said Hagrid, clapping his great hand on Harry's shoulder and making Harry's knees buckle.**

" **Good Lord," said the bartender, peering at Harry, "is this — can this be —?"**

"John Smith?" Hermione said with a straight face.

"Jethro Gibbs?" Ron chuckled.

"No, it's Harry Potter." Harry laughed at his friends antics.

**The Leaky Cauldron had suddenly gone completely still and silent.**

"Whoa," Fred gasped.

"Cool." George exclaimed.

"Can we use that when mum starts yelling?" they said at the same time.

Harry, who was about to moan about hating his fame again, chuckled. "Sure." he said with a grin.

" **Bless my soul," whispered the old bartender, "Harry Potter… what an honor."**

**He hurried out from behind the bar, rushed toward Harry and seized his hand, tears in his eyes.**

" **Welcome back, Mr. Potter, welcome back."**

**Harry didn't know what to say. Everyone was looking at him. The old woman with the pipe was puffing on it without realizing it had gone out. Hagrid was beaming.**

**Then there was a great scraping of chairs and the next moment, Harry found himself shaking hands with everyone in the Leaky Cauldron.**

"I hate my fame," Harry moaned.

"Why?" Cedric asked.

"Haven't you been paying attention? I'd like to simply go someplace without people shaking my hand, or worse, grabbing me for pictures." Harry shuddered, remembering the Lockheart debacle.

"Sorry, Harry." Cedric said with a small smile.

" **Doris Crockford, Mr. Potter, can't believe I'm meeting you at last."**

" **So proud, Mr. Potter, I'm just so proud."**

" **Always wanted to shake your hand — I'm all of a flutter."**

" **Delighted, Mr. Potter, just can't tell you, Diggle's the name, Dedalus Diggle."**

" **I've seen you before!" said Harry, as Dedalus Diggle's top hat fell off in his excitement. "You bowed to me once in a shop."**

"Smooth," Fred laughed.

"I was eleven," Harry glared. "Also, I was kinda new to the whole magic thing."

" **He remembers!" cried Dedalus Diggle, looking around at everyone. "Did you hear that? He remembers me!" Harry shook hands again and again — Doris Crockford kept coming back for more.**

**A pale young man made his way forward, very nervously. One of his eyes was twitching.**

Harry's eyebrow twitched, Ron's fist clenched and Hermione's face darkened at the mention of Quirrell.

" **Professor Quirrell!" said Hagrid. "Harry, Professor Quirrell will be one of your teachers at Hogwarts."**

" **P-P-Potter," stammered Professor Quirrell, grasping Harry's hand, "c-can't t-tell you how p-pleased I am to meet you."**

"That stutter was annoying," Katie grumbled.

" **What sort of magic do you teach, Professor Quirrell?"**

" **D-Defense Against the D-D-Dark Arts," muttered Professor Quirrell, as though he'd rather not think about it.**

"I wish he wasn't." George muttered. "But he was better than Lockheart."

"Truer words were never spoken." Oliver said with a grin.

" **N-not that you n-need it, eh, P-P-Potter?" He laughed**

"Stop stuttering," Cho muttered, "or I will find a way to curse you. Yes, Cedric. I know I'm talking to a book."

**nervously. "You'll be g-getting all your equipment, I suppose? I've g-got to p-pick up a new b-book on vampires, m-myself." He looked terrified at the very thought.**

**But the others wouldn't let Professor Quirrell keep Harry to himself. It took almost ten minutes to get away from them all. At last, Hagrid managed to make himself heard over the babble.**

" **Must get on — lots ter buy. Come on, Harry."**

**Doris Crockford shook Harry's hand one last time, and Hagrid led them through the bar and out into a small, walled courtyard, where there was nothing but a trash can and a few weeds.**

**Hagrid grinned at Harry.**

" **Told yeh, didn't I? Told yeh you was famous. Even Professor Quirrell was tremblin' ter meet yeh — mind you, he's usually tremblin'."**

"That was quite annoying," Fred said.

" **Is he always that nervous?"**

" **Oh, yeah. Poor bloke. Brilliant mind. He was fine while he was studyin' outta books but then he took a year off ter get some firsthand experience… They say he met vampires in the Black Forest, and there was a nasty bit o' trouble with a hag — never been the same since. Scared of the students, scared of his own subject — now, where's me umbrella?"**

"No, Quirrell met something worse," Harry muttered to Ron.

**Vampires? Hags? Harry's head was swimming. Hagrid, meanwhile, was counting bricks in the wall above the trash can.**

" **Three up… two across…" he muttered. "Right, stand back, Harry."**

**He tapped the wall three times with the point of his umbrella.**

**The brick he had touched quivered — it wriggled — in the middle, a small hole appeared — it grew wider and wider — a second later they were facing an archway large enough even for Hagrid, an archway onto a cobbled street that twisted and turned out of sight.**

" **Welcome," said Hagrid, "to Diagon Alley."**

**He grinned at Harry's amazement. They stepped through the archway. Harry looked quickly over his shoulder and saw the archway shrink instantly back into solid wall.**

**The sun shone brightly on a stack of cauldrons outside the nearest shop. Cauldrons — All Sizes — Copper, Brass, Pewter, Silver — Self-Stirring — Collapsible, said a sign hanging over them.**

"I love Diagon Ally." Alicia grinned.

"Me too," everyone else agreed with her.

" **Yeah, you'll be needin' one," said Hagrid, "but we gotta get yer money first."**

**Harry wished he had about eight more eyes.**

Ron shuddered. What was with all the spider references?

**He turned his head in every direction as they walked up the street, trying to look at everything at once: the shops, the things outside them, the people doing their shopping. A plump woman outside an Apothecary was shaking her head as they passed, saying, "Dragon liver, sixteen Sickles an ounce, they're mad…"**

"Was that mum?" Ron asked.

"I think it was," Harry said in surprise.

**A low, soft hooting came from a dark shop with a sign saying Eeylops Owl Emporium — Tawny, Screech, Barn, Brown, and Snowy. Several boys of about Harry's age had their noses pressed against a window with broomsticks in it. "Look," Harry heard one of them say, "the new Nimbus Two Thousand — fastest ever —"**

"I love my broom," Harry said with a grin.

**There were shops selling robes, shops selling telescopes and strange silver instruments Harry had never seen before, windows stacked with barrels of bat spleens and eels' eyes, tottering piles of spell books, quills, and rolls of parchment, potion bottles, globes of the moon…**

" **Gringotts," said Hagrid.**

**They had reached a snowy white building that towered over the other little shops. Standing beside its burnished bronze doors, wearing a uniform of scarlet and gold, was —**

" **Yeah, that's a goblin," said Hagrid quietly as they walked up the white stone steps toward him. The goblin was about a head shorter than Harry. He had a swarthy, clever face, a pointed beard and, Harry noticed, very long fingers and feet. He bowed as they walked inside. Now they were facing a second pair of doors, silver this time, with words engraved upon them:**

_**Enter, stranger, but take heed** _

_**Of what awaits the sin of greed,** _

_**For those who take, but do not earn,** _

_**Must pay most dearly in their turn.** _

_**So if you seek beneath our floors** _

_**A treasure that was never yours,** _

_**Thief, you have been warned, beware** _

_**Of finding more than treasure there.** _

"I love that poem," Cho sighed.

" **Like I said, Yeh'd be mad ter try an' rob it," said Hagrid.**

**A pair of goblins bowed them through the silver doors and they were in a vast marble hall. About a hundred more goblins were sitting on high stools behind a long counter, scribbling in large ledgers, weighing coins in brass scales, examining precious stones through eyeglasses. There were too many doors to count leading off the hall, and yet more goblins were showing people in and out of these. Hagrid and Harry made for the counter.**

" **Morning," said Hagrid to a free goblin. "We've come ter take some money outta Mr. Harry Potter's safe."**

" **You have his key, sir?"**

" **Got it here somewhere," said Hagrid, and he started emptying his pockets onto the counter, scattering a handful of moldy dog biscuits over the goblin's book of numbers. The goblin wrinkled his nose. Harry watched the goblin on their right weighing a pile of rubies as big as glowing coals.**

" **Got it," said Hagrid at last, holding up a tiny golden key.**

**The goblin looked at it closely.**

" **That seems to be in order."**

" **An' I've also got a letter here from Professor Dumbledore," said Hagrid importantly, throwing out his chest. "It's about the You-Know-What in vault seven hundred and thirteen."**

"Mistake number one," Hermione whispered to her boys. "If he hadn't said that then you probably wouldn't have cared."

"Until the midnight duel anyway," Harry whispered back with a smirk.

**The goblin read the letter carefully.**

" **Very well," he said, handing it back to Hagrid, "I will have someone take you down to both vaults. Griphook!"**

**Griphook was yet another goblin.**

"No! Really?" Fred gasped.

"I was _eleven_ ," Harry muttered.

**Once Hagrid had crammed all the dog biscuits back inside his pockets, he and Harry followed Griphook toward one of the doors leading off the hall.**

" **What's the You-Know-What in vault seven hundred and thirteen?" Harry asked.**

" **Can't tell yeh that," said Hagrid mysteriously. "Very secret. Hogwarts business. Dumbledore's trusted me. More'n my job's worth ter tell yeh that."**

"Now, combine that with the natural curiosity of an eleven year old…" Harry whispered to Ron.

"Recipe for disaster." Ron whispered back.

**Griphook held the door open for them. Harry, who had expected more marble, was surprised. They were in a narrow stone passageway lit with flaming torches. It sloped steeply downward and there were little railway tracks on the floor. Griphook whistled and a small cart came hurtling up the tracks toward them. They climbed in — Hagrid with some difficulty — and were off.**

"I hate those carts," Cho muttered.

**At first they just hurtled through a maze of twisting passages. Harry tried to remember, left, right, right, left, middle fork, right, left, but it was impossible.**

"That's better than I could remember," Cedric said with a small grin. "I get lost after the second right."

**The rattling cart seemed to know its own way, because Griphook wasn't steering.**

**Harry's eyes stung as the cold air rushed past them, but he kept them wide open. Once, he thought he saw a burst of fire at the end of a passage and twisted around to see if it was a dragon, but too late**

— **they plunged even deeper, passing an underground lake where huge stalactites and stalagmites grew from the ceiling and floor.**

" **I never know," Harry called to Hagrid over the noise of the cart, "what's the difference between a stalagmite and a stalactite?"**

"Well a stalagmite—" Cho began but Harry cut her off.

"I know now."

" **Stalagmite's got an 'm' in it," said Hagrid. "An' don' ask me questions just now, I think I'm gonna be sick."**

"I like Hagid's answer better," Ron said with a grin.

**He did look very green, and when the cart stopped at last beside a small door in the passage wall, Hagrid got out and had to lean against the wall to stop his knees from trembling.**

**Griphook unlocked the door. A lot of green smoke came billowing out, and as it cleared, Harry gasped. Inside were mounds of gold coins. Columns of silver. Heaps of little bronze Knuts.**

" **All yours," smiled Hagrid.**

**All Harry's — it was incredible. The Dursleys couldn't have known about this or they'd have had it from him faster than blinking.**

"Like the goblins would let that happen," Cho rolled her eyes.

**How often had they complained how much Harry cost them to keep? And all the time there had been a small fortune belonging to him, buried deep under London. Hagrid helped Harry pile some of it into a bag.**

" **The gold ones are Galleons," he explained. "Seventeen silver Sickles to a Galleon and twenty-nine Knuts to a Sickle, it's easy enough. Right, that should be enough fer a couple o' terms, we'll keep the rest safe for yeh." He turned to Griphook. "Vault seven hundred and thirteen now, please, and can we go more slowly?"**

"Just one speed," Cho said with a frown.

"Good," Harry said with a smile. "I like the carts."

"He's insane," Fred decreed. "I knew there was a reason I liked him."

" **One speed only," said Griphook.**

**They were going even deeper now and gathering speed. The air became colder and colder as they hurtled round tight corners. They went rattling over an underground ravine, and Harry leaned over the side to try to see what was down at the dark bottom, but Hagrid groaned and pulled him back by the scruff of his neck.**

"Harry!" the girls yelled.

"Nice one!" the twins exclaimed.

**Vault seven hundred and thirteen had no keyhole.**

" **Stand back," said Griphook importantly. He stroked the door gently with one of his long fingers and it simply melted away.**

" **If anyone but a Gringotts goblin tried that, they'd be sucked through the door and trapped in there," said Griphook.**

" **How often do you check to see if anyone's inside?" Harry asked.**

" **About once every ten years," said Griphook with a rather nasty grin.**

 **Something really extraordinary had to be inside this top security vault, Harry was sure, and he leaned forward eagerly, expecting to see fabulous jewels at the very least** — **but at first he thought it was empty. Then he noticed a grubby little package wrapped up in brown paper lying on the floor.**

"I wonder what it is?" Katie asked.

Harry leaned over to Ron and Hermione. "Gee, I haven't got a clue. Do you guys?"

Hermione smirked and Ron chuckled. "I love knowing things that they don't." Ron whispered back.

**Hagrid picked it up and tucked it deep inside his coat. Harry longed to know what it was, but knew better than to ask.**

" **Come on, back in this infernal cart, and don't talk to me on the way back, it's best if I keep me mouth shut," said Hagrid.**

**One wild cart ride later they stood blinking in the sunlight outside Gringotts. Harry didn't know where to run first now that he had a bag full of money. He didn't have to know how many Galleons there were to a pound to know that he was holding more money than he'd had in his whole life — more money than even Dudley had ever had.**

" **Might as well get yer uniform," said Hagrid, nodding toward Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions. "Listen, Harry, would yeh mind if I slipped off fer a pick-me-up in the Leaky Cauldron? I hate them Gringotts carts." He did still look a bit sick, so Harry entered Madam Malkin's shop alone, feeling nervous.**

"Wait, he left you on your own?" Hermione asked her friend. At his nod, she huffed. "Hagrid!"

**Madam Malkin was a squat, smiling witch dressed all in mauve.**

" **Hogwarts, dear?" she said, when Harry started to speak. "Got the lot here — another young man being fitted up just now, in fact."**

"Did you make a friend, Harry?" the twins said in a voice that sounded almost like their mother's.

"It was Malfoy," Harry told them.

"Never mind."

**In the back of the shop, a boy with a pale, pointed face was standing on a footstool while a second witch pinned up his long black robes. Madam Malkin stood Harry on a stool next to him slipped a long robe over his head, and began to pin it to the right length.**

" **Hello," said the boy, "Hogwarts, too?"**

" **Yes," said Harry.**

" **My father's next door buying my books and mother's up the street looking at wands," said the boy.**

"Umm? It's not like his mum could choose his wand for him." Angelina glared.

**He had a bored, drawling voice. "Then I'm going to drag them off to look at racing brooms. I don't see why first years can't have their own. I think I'll bully father into getting me one and I'll smuggle it in somehow."**

"Brat."

"You know you're talking to a book right Ron?"

"Yeah. It's the only way I can insult Malfoy without Snape taking points."

**Harry was strongly reminded of Dudley.**

" **Have** _ **you**_ **got your own broom?" the boy went on.**

" **No," said Harry.**

" **Play Quidditch at all?"**

" **No," Harry said again, wondering what on earth Quidditch could be.**

"Just the best sport in the world!" Oliver and Ron shouted.

" _ **I**_ **do — Father says it's a crime if I'm not picked to play for my house, and I must say, I agree. Know what house you'll be in yet?"**

"No one does," Katie said.

" **No," said Harry, feeling more stupid by the minute.**

" **Well, no one really knows until they get there, do they, but I know I'll be in Slytherin, all our family have been — imagine being in Hufflepuff, I think I'd leave, wouldn't you?"**

"Hey, imagine being in the same house as Malfoy. I'd escort him to the train myself," Cedric grinned at the image.

" **Mmm," said Harry, wishing he could say something a bit more interesting.**

" **I say, look at that man!" said the boy suddenly, nodding toward the front window. Hagrid was standing there, grinning at Harry and pointing at two large ice creams to show he couldn't come in.**

" **That's Hagrid," said Harry, pleased to know something the boy didn't. "He works at Hogwarts."**

" **Oh," said the boy, "I've heard of him. He's a sort of servant, isn't he?"**

"Git."

" **He's the gamekeeper," said Harry. He was liking the boy less and less every second.**

"Good," the twins nodded. "Make friends with cooler people."

"Like me," Ron said, "and Hermione."

" **Yes, exactly. I heard he's a sort of** _ **savage**_ — **lives in a hut on the school grounds and every now and then he gets drunk, tries to do magic, and ends up setting fire to his bed."**

" **I think he's brilliant," said Harry coldly.**

" _ **Do**_ **you?" said the boy, with a slight sneer. "Why is he with you? Where are your parents?"**

"Why do you need to know?" Alicia glared at the book.

" **They're dead," said Harry shortly. He didn't feel much like going into the matter with this boy.**

" **Oh, sorry," said the other, not sounding sorry at all.**

" **But they were** _ **our**_ **kind, weren't they?"**

"Well, yes." Harry said. "They were human. At least I think so."

Everyone laughed at Harry's joke.

"That's what someone needs to tell him." Hermione said once she caught her breath.

" **They were a witch and wizard, if that's what you mean."**

" **I really don't think they should let the other sort in, do you? They're just not the same, they've never been brought up to know our ways. Some of them have never even heard of Hogwarts until they get the letter, imagine. I think they should keep it in the old wizarding families. What's your surname, anyway?"**

"Wonder what would have happened if you told him?" Ron asked.

"He would have tried to suck up to me." Harry replied.

**But before Harry could answer, Madam Malkin said, "That's you done, my dear," and Harry, not sorry for an excuse to stop talking to the boy, hopped down from the footstool.**

" **Well, I'll see you at Hogwarts, I suppose," said the drawling boy.**

"Do we have to?" Ron asked.

**Harry was rather quiet as he ate the ice cream Hagrid had bought him (chocolate and raspberry with chopped nuts).**

" **What's up?" said Hagrid.**

" **Nothing," Harry lied.**

"Work on that skill," Fred told Harry. "You'll never know when you'll need it."

**They stopped to buy parchment and quills. Harry cheered up a bit when he found a bottle of ink that changed color as you wrote. When they had left the shop, he said, "Hagrid, what's Quidditch?"**

" **Blimey, Harry, I keep forgettin' how little yeh know — not knowin' about Quidditch!"**

"Don't remind me," Oliver moaned.

" **Don't make me feel worse," said Harry. He told Hagrid about the pale boy in Madam Malkin's.**

"— **and he said people from Muggle families shouldn't even be allowed in —"**

"Harry, trust me. You're not from a muggle family." Cedric told him.

"And even if you were," Hermione said with a glare, "you would still be allowed in."

" **Yer not** _ **from**_ **a Muggle family. If he'd known who yeh** _ **were**_ — **he's grown up knowin' yer name if his parents are wizardin' folk. You saw what everyone in the Leaky Cauldron was like when they saw yeh. Anyway, what does he know about it, some o' the best I ever saw were the only ones with magic in 'em in a long line o' Muggles — look at yer mum! Look what she had fer a sister!"**

" **So what** _ **is**_ **Quidditch?"**

" **It's our sport. Wizard sport. It's like — like soccer in the Muggle world — everyone follows Quidditch — played up in the air on broomsticks and there's four balls — sorta hard ter explain the rules."**

"No it's not," Oliver said.

"Oliver, mate. You're talking to a book." Harry told him.

" **And what are Slytherin and Hufflepuff?"**

" **School houses. There's four. Everyone says Hufflepuff are a lot o' duffers, but —"**

"OI!" Cedric shouted. "There's nothing wrong with Hufflepuff!"

"Aren't they good finders?" Hermione asked innocently. Ron and Harry burst out laughing.

" **I bet I'm in Hufflepuff," said Harry gloomily.**

" **Better Hufflepuff than Slytherin," said Hagrid darkly. "There's not a single witch or wizard who went bad who wasn't in Slytherin. You-Know-Who was one."**

"You know," Cedric said. "Slytherin does get a bad reputation. Bad wizards come from all houses."

Everyone's –but Harry's and Hermione's—face darkened at the reminder of Black.

"But Slytherin has Malfoy," Harry said confused. "Isn't that enough to hate them?"

"Kid's got a point," Fred chuckled.

" **Vol-, sorry —You-Know-Who was at Hogwarts?"**

" **Years an' years ago," said Hagrid.**

**They bought Harry's school books in a shop called Flourish and Blotts where the shelves were stacked to the ceiling with books as large as paving stones bound in leather; books the size of postage stamps in covers of silk; books full of peculiar symbols and a few books with nothing in them at all. Even Dudley, who never read anything, would have been wild to get his hands on some of these. Hagrid almost had to drag Harry away from** _**Curses and Countercurses (Bewitch Your Friends and Befuddle Your Enemies with the Latest Revenges: Hair Loss, Jelly-Legs, Tongue-Tying and Much, Much More)** _ **by Professor Vindictus Viridian.**

" **I was trying to find out how to curse Dudley."**

"We'll make a prankster out of you yet," the twins decreed.

" **I'm not sayin' that's not a good idea, but yer not ter use magic in the Muggle world except in very special circumstances," said Hagrid. "An' anyway, yeh couldn' work any of them curses yet, yeh'll need a lot more study before yeh get ter that level."**

**Hagrid wouldn't let Harry buy a solid gold cauldron, either ("It says pewter on yer list"), but they got a nice set of scales for weighing potion ingredients and a collapsible brass telescope. Then they visited the Apothecary, which was fascinating enough to make up for its horrible smell, a mixture of bad eggs and rotted cabbages. Barrels of slimy stuff stood on the floor; jars of herbs, dried roots, and bright powders lined the walls; bundles of feathers, strings of fangs, and snarled claws hung from the ceiling. While Hagrid asked the man behind the counter for a supply of some basic potion ingredients for Harry, Harry himself examined silver unicorn horns at twenty-one Galleons each and minuscule, glittery-black beetle eyes (five Knuts a scoop).**

**Outside the Apothecary, Hagrid checked Harry's list again.**

" **Just yer wand left — A yeah, an' I still haven't got yeh a birthday present."**

"Hedwig," Harry grinned.

**Harry felt himself go red.**

" **You don't have to —"**

" **I know I don't have to. Tell yeh what, I'll get yer animal. Not a toad, toads went outta fashion years ago, yeh'd be laughed at**

"Too bad no one told Neville," Ron whispered to Harry. They both bit back their chuckles.

**an' I don' like cats, they make me sneeze. I'll get yer an owl. All the kids want owls, they're dead useful, carry yer mail an' everythin'."**

**Twenty minutes later, they left Eeylops Owl Emporium, which had been dark and full of rustling and flickering, jewel-bright eyes. Harry now carried a large cage that held a beautiful snowy owl, fast asleep with her head under her wing. He couldn't stop stammering his thanks, sounding just like Professor Quirrell.**

" **Don' mention it," said Hagrid gruffly. "Don' expect you've had a lotta presents from them Dursleys. Just Ollivanders left now — only place fer wands, Ollivanders, and yeh gotta have the best wand."**

**A magic wand… this was what Harry had been really looking forward to.**

"All eleven year olds do," Cedric grinned.

**The last shop was narrow and shabby. Peeling gold letters over the door read Ollivanders: Makers of Fine Wands since 382 B.C. A single wand lay on a faded purple cushion in the dusty window.**

"Ah," Alicia giggled. "It's believed to be Merlin's wand."

"Really?" Angelina asked. "I heard it was Morgan Le Fay's."

**A tinkling bell rang somewhere in the depths of the shop as they stepped inside. It was a tiny place, empty except for a single, spindly chair that Hagrid sat on to wait. Harry felt strangely as though he had entered a very strict library; he swallowed a lot of new questions that had just occurred to him and looked instead at the thousands of narrow boxes piled neatly right up to the ceiling. For some reason, the back of his neck prickled.**

"You could feel that?" Oliver asked.

"Ummm? Yeah?"

Everyone stared at Harry in amazement. He would be a powerful wizard. Harry started to fidget.

"Stop staring, please. It's starting to creep me out."

**The very dust and silence in here seemed to tingle with some secret magic.**

" **Good afternoon," said a soft voice. Harry jumped. Hagrid must have jumped, too, because there was a loud crunching noise and he got quickly off the spindly chair.**

"That explains the broken chair when Ginny went in there," Fred grinned.

**An old man was standing before them, his wide, pale eyes shining like moons through the gloom of the shop.**

" **Hello," said Harry awkwardly.**

" **Ah yes," said the man. "Yes, yes. I thought I'd be seeing you soon. Harry Potter." It wasn't a question. "You have your mother's eyes. It seems only yesterday she was in here herself, buying her first wand. Ten and a quarter inches long, swishy, made of willow. Nice wand for charm work."**

"Merlin, he's got a good memory," Hermione gasped.

**Mr. Ollivander moved closer to Harry. Harry wished he would blink. Those silvery eyes were a bit creepy.**

"You're not the only one who wishes that," Cho told him. "I think everyone wishes he would blink."

" **Your father, on the other hand, favored a mahogany wand. Eleven inches. Pliable. A little more power and excellent for transfiguration. Well, I say your father favored it — it's really the wand that chooses the wizard, of course."**

"How does he remember that?" Harry asked.

"Search me, mate." Ron shrugged.

**Mr. Ollivander had come so close that he and Harry were almost nose to nose. Harry could see himself reflected in those misty eyes.**

" **And that's where…"**

**Mr. Ollivander touched the lightning scar on Harry's forehead with a long, white finger.**

"And that's not awkward at all," Katie huffed.

" **I'm sorry to say I sold the wand that did it," he said softly. "Thirteen-and-a-half inches. Yew. Powerful wand, very powerful, and in the wrong hands… well, if I'd known what that wand was going out into the world to do…"**

**He shook his head and then, to Harry's relief, spotted Hagrid.**

" **Rubeus! Rubeus Hagrid! How nice to see you again… Oak, sixteen inches, rather bendy, wasn't it?"**

" **It was, sir, yes," said Hagrid.**

" **Good wand, that one. But I suppose they snapped it in half when you got expelled?" said Mr. Ollivander, suddenly stern.**

" **Er — yes, they did, yes," said Hagrid, shuffling his feet. "I've still got the pieces, though," he added brightly.**

" **But you don't** _ **use**_ **them?" said Mr. Ollivander sharply.**

"Sure you don't Hagrid." the twins chuckled.

" **Oh, no, sir," said Hagrid quickly. Harry noticed he gripped his pink umbrella very tightly as he spoke.**

"Wow, that wasn't obvious at all," Cedric drawled.

" **Hmmm," said Mr. Ollivander, giving Hagrid a piercing look. "Well, now — Mr. Potter. Let me see." He pulled a long tape measure with silver markings out of his pocket. "Which is your wand arm?"**

" **Er — well, I'm right-handed," said Harry.**

"Smooth mate," Ron chuckled.

"I was raised by muggles," Harry said slowly.

" **Hold out your arm. That's it." He measured Harry from shoulder to finger, then wrist to elbow, shoulder to floor, knee to armpit and round his head. As he measured, he said, "Every Ollivander wand has a core of a powerful magical substance, Mr. Potter. We use unicorn hairs, phoenix tail feathers, and the heartstrings of dragons. No two Ollivander wands are the same, just as no two unicorns, dragons, or phoenixes are quite the same. And of course, you will never get such good results with another wizard's wand."**

"Really?" Hermione asked. "I never knew that."

"Neither did I," Cho said. Ron looked down at his wand. Was that why Charlie's old wand never used to work for him before it got broken?

**Harry suddenly realized that the tape measure, which was measuring between his nostrils, was doing this on its own. Mr. Ollivander was flitting around the shelves, taking down boxes.**

" **That will do," he said, and the tape measure crumpled into a heap on the floor. "Right then, Mr. Potter. Try this one. Beechwood and dragon heartstring. Nine inches. Nice and flexible. just take it and give it a wave."**

**Harry took the wand and (feeling foolish) waved it around a bit, but Mr. Ollivander snatched it out of his hand almost at once.**

" **Maple and phoenix feather. Seven inches. Quite whippy. Try —"**

**Harry tried — but he had hardly raised the wand when it, too, was snatched back by Mr. Ollivander.**

" **No, no — here, ebony and unicorn hair, eight and a half inches, springy. Go on, go on, try it out."**

"Merlin, how many wands did you have to try?" Cedric asked the young boy.

"I lost count after fifteen," he told him.

**Harry tried. And tried. He had no idea what Mr. Ollivander was waiting for. The pile of tried wands was mounting higher and higher on the spindly chair, but the more wands Mr. Ollivander pulled from the shelves, the happier he seemed to become.**

" **Tricky customer, eh? Not to worry, we'll find the perfect match here somewhere — I wonder, now — yes, why not — unusual combination — holly and phoenix feather, eleven inches, nice and supple."**

**Harry took the wand. He felt a sudden warmth in his fingers.**

"Yay!" Ron cheered. He was getting tired of hearing about the wand shop. He was also feeling a twinge of jealousy at his friend. He just had Charlie's old wand, and now that was defective.

**He raised the wand above his head, brought it swishing down through the dusty air and a stream of red and gold sparks shot from the end like a firework, throwing dancing spots of light on to the walls.**

**Hagrid whooped and clapped and Mr. Ollivander cried, "Oh, bravo! Yes, indeed, oh, very good. Well, well, well… how curious… how very curious…"**

"What's curious?" Hermione asked.

**He put Harry's wand back into its box and wrapped it in brown paper, still muttering, "Curious… curious…"**

" **Sorry," said Harry, "but what's curious?"**

**Mr. Ollivander fixed Harry with his pale stare.**

" **I remember every wand I've ever sold, Mr. Potter. Every single wand. It so happens that the phoenix whose tail feather is in your wand, gave another feather — just one other. It is very curious indeed that you should be destined for this wand when its brother — why, its brother gave you that scar."**

"What the f—" Fred was cut off by a hand over his mouth.

"Don't swear," Katie told him. "Especially not around second years."

But even she was stunned at that little fact. Ron turned to Harry.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Oh, that would have gone well." Harry rolled his eyes. "Hi, I'm Harry Potter and I have a brother wand to the git who killed my parents."

" **Yes, thirteen-and-a-half inches. Yew. Curious indeed how these things happen. The wand chooses the wizard, remember… I think we must expect great things from you, Mr. Potter… After all, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named did great things — terrible, yes, but great." \**

"Wait, did he just praise You-Know-Who?" Ron asked Harry.

"No, I don't know who," Harry told him. "But yeah, I think he did."

**Harry shivered. He wasn't sure he liked Mr. Ollivander too much. He paid seven gold Galleons for his wand, and Mr. Ollivander bowed them from his shop.**

"He did that for me," Cedric told Harry. Everyone else was still in shock that Harry had a brother wand to _Voldemort_.

**The late afternoon sun hung low in the sky as Harry and Hagrid made their way back down Diagon Alley, back through the wall, back through the Leaky Cauldron, now empty. Harry didn't speak at all as they walked down the road; he didn't even notice how much people were gawking at them on the Underground, laden as they were with all their funny-shaped packages, with the snowy owl asleep in its cage on Harry's lap. Up another escalator, out into Paddington station; Harry only realized where they were when Hagrid tapped him on the shoulder.**

" **Got time fer a bite to eat before yer train leaves," he said.**

**He bought Harry a hamburger and they sat down on plastic seats to eat them. Harry kept looking around. Everything looked so strange, somehow.**

"Join the club," Hermione smiled at her friend.

"What club?" Fred asked, "and how does he join?"

"It's a muggle expression," Harry quickly explained.

" **You all right, Harry? Yer very quiet," said Hagrid.**

**Harry wasn't sure he could explain. He'd just had the best birthday of his life — and yet — he chewed his hamburger, trying to find the words.**

" **Everyone thinks I'm special," he said at last.**

"Yes, you are," Oliver and Hermione said firmly.

"You're a great wizard," Hermione told him.

"And you're the youngest seeker in a century," Oliver grinned proudly.

" **All those people in the Leaky Cauldron, Professor Quirrell, Mr. Ollivander… but I don't know anything about magic at all. How can they expect great things? I'm famous and I can't even remember what I'm famous for. I don't know what happened when Vol-, sorry — I mean, the night my parents died."**

Cedric frowned. When it was put like that, he could see why Harry hated his fame. He would too.

**Hagrid leaned across the table. Behind the wild beard and eyebrows he wore a very kind smile.**

" **Don' you worry, Harry. You'll learn fast enough. Everyone starts at the beginning at Hogwarts, you'll be just fine. Just be yerself. I know it's hard. Yeh've been singled out, an' that's always hard. But yeh'll have a great time at Hogwarts — I did — still do, 'smatter of fact."**

"Best place there is," the twins sighed.

**Hagrid helped Harry on to the train that would take him back to the Dursleys, then handed him an envelope.**

" **Yer ticket fer Hogwarts, " he said. "First o' September — King's Cross — it's all on yer ticket. Any problems with the Dursleys, send me a letter with yer owl, she'll know where to find me…. See yeh soon, Harry."**

"Wait," Cho frowned. "How will you get on the platform?"

"I had some help," Harry said with a smirk in Ron's direction.

**The train pulled out of the station. Harry wanted to watch Hagrid until he was out of sight; he rose in his seat and pressed his nose against the window, but he blinked and Hagrid had gone.**

"That's the end of the chapter," Katie said. "Who's next?"

"I am," George said. "The next chapter is 'The Journey from Platform Nine and Three Quarters."

"So, Hogwarts!" Ron grinned ear to ear.


	6. Chapter 6

" **The Journey From Platform Nine and Three-Quarters,"** read George.

Everyone cheered.

**Harry's last month with the Dursleys wasn't fun.**

"Was it better than this year?" Ron whispered to Harry.

"Yeah, actually. It was."

**True, Dudley was now so scared of Harry he wouldn't stay in the same room, while Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon didn't shut Harry in his cupboard, force him to do anything, or shout at him — in fact, they didn't speak to him at all.**

"It got kind of depressing after a while," Harry muttered.

**Half terrified, half furious, they acted as though any chair with Harry in it were empty.**

**Although this was an improvement in many ways, it did become a bit depressing after a while.**

"See you don't change much," Ron said, trying to cheer up his friend.

**Harry kept to his room, with his new owl for company. He had decided to call her Hedwig, a name he had found in** _**A History of Magic** _ **. His school books were very interesting.**

"You read your books!" the twins exclaimed.

"For shame mate," Ron shook his head. "For shame."

**He lay on his bed reading late into the night, Hedwig swooping in and out of the open window as she pleased. It was lucky that Aunt Petunia didn't come in to vacuum anymore, because Hedwig kept bringing back dead mice. Every night before he went to sleep, Harry ticked off another day on the piece of paper he had pinned to the wall, counting down to September the first.**

Everyone but Harry frowned. It wasn't fair that Harry should have to look forward to leaving his home.

**On the last day of August he thought he'd better speak to his aunt and uncle about getting to King's Cross station the next day, so he went down to the living room where they were watching a quiz show on television. He cleared his throat to let them know he was there, and Dudley screamed and ran from the room.**

The room laughed.

" **Er — Uncle Vernon?"**

**Uncle Vernon grunted to show he was listening.**

"Pig."

" **Er — I need to be at King's Cross tomorrow to — to go to Hogwarts."**

**Uncle Vernon grunted again.**

"Git."

" **Would it be all right if you gave me a lift?"**

**Grunt. Harry supposed that meant yes.**

"Or it means something else. I don't know. I don't speak troll," Angelina said to a room full of laughter.

" **Thank you."**

**He was about to go back upstairs when Uncle Vernon actually spoke.**

" **Funny way to get to a wizards' school, the train. Magic carpets all got punctures, have they?"**

"No, they're just illegal," George frowned.

**Harry didn't say anything.**

" **Where is this school, anyway?"**

" **I don't know," said Harry, realizing this for the first time. He pulled the ticket Hagrid had given him out of his pocket.**

"It's in Scotland," Alicia told Harry.

"I know _now_ ," Harry said, shaking his head.

" **I just take the train from platform nine and three-quarters at eleven o'clock," he read.**

"And cue the confusion of the whale," Fred grinned.

**His aunt and uncle stared.**

" **Platform what?"**

"Nine and three quarters," Ron said as if speaking to someone who was mentally handicapped.

"Mate you're talking to a book," Harry said worried for his friend.

" **Nine and three-quarters."**

" **Don't talk rubbish," said Uncle Vernon. "There is no platform nine and three-quarters."**

"Yes there is," Cho said with a smirk.

"Your aunt would know this," Cedric frowned. "She had a witch for a sister."

"She hates our world," Harry shrugged.

" **It's on my ticket."**

" **Barking," said Uncle Vernon, "howling mad, the lot of them. You'll see. You just wait. All right, we'll take you to King's Cross. We're going up to London tomorrow anyway, or I wouldn't bother."**

"Why?" Ron asked.

" **Why are you going to London?" Harry asked, trying to keep things friendly.**

"Why?" Alicia asked.

"I honestly don't remember," Harry said with a shrug.

" **Taking Dudley to the hospital," growled Uncle Vernon. "Got to have that ruddy tail removed before he goes to Smeltings."**

"No, leave it on," Oliver said. "It fits his personality. "

**Harry woke at five o'clock the next morning and was too excited and nervous to go back to sleep.**

"Well that's later than we woke Ron up at," the twins grinned.

"One in the bloody morning," Ron glared at his brothers.

"Ronald! Language!" Hermione scolded.

"Fred! Really?" Katie sighed.

**He got up and pulled on his jeans because he didn't want to walk into the station in his wizard's robes —**

"He can be taught," Hermione said with a grin.

**he'd change on the train. He checked his Hogwarts list yet again to make sure he had everything he needed, saw that Hedwig was shut safely in her cage, and then paced the room, waiting for the Dursleys to get up.**

**Two hours later, Harry's huge, heavy trunk had been loaded into the Dursleys' car, Aunt Petunia had talked Dudley into sitting next to Harry, and they had set off.**

"Why didn't one of them stay at home?" Cedric asked. "Then he could have sat up front."

"They're idiots," Harry said. "Nuff said."

**They reached King's Cross at half past ten. Uncle Vernon dumped Harry's trunk onto a cart and wheeled it into the station for him.**

"That was nice," Hermione said suspiciously.

"Too nice," Ron glared.

**Harry thought this was strangely kind until Uncle Vernon stopped dead, facing the platforms with a nasty grin on his face.**

" **Well, there you are, boy. Platform nine — platform ten. Your platform should be somewhere in the middle, but they don't seem to have built it yet, do they?"**

**He was quite right, of course. There was a big plastic number nine over one platform and a big plastic number ten over the one next to it, and in the middle, nothing at all.**

" **Have a good term," said Uncle Vernon with an even nastier smile. He left without another word. Harry turned and saw the Dursleys drive away. All three of them were laughing.**

The twins' faces turned to stone, and they instantly began plotting more pranks to pull on the Dursleys.

"How dare they!" Katie yelled.

"Those pigs," Cho spat.

"Ummm, I do get on the train," Harry said with a nervous look. That seemed to calm them down a little.

**Harry's mouth went rather dry. What on earth was he going to do? He was starting to attract a lot of funny looks, because of Hedwig. He'd have to ask someone. He stopped a passing guard, but didn't dare mention platform nine and three-quarters.**

**The guard had never heard of Hogwarts and when Harry couldn't even tell him what part of the country it was in, he started to get annoyed, as though Harry was being stupid on purpose. Getting desperate, Harry asked for the train that left at eleven o'clock, but the guard said there wasn't one.**

"You know," Cho said. "According to mum, that guard needs his memory wiped at least once a year."

"Poor guy," Cedric said. "I'd hate to have that happen to me."

"I'd like it to happen to Lockheart," Harry muttered to Ron who nodded.

**In the end the guard strode away, muttering about time wasters. Harry was now trying hard not to panic. According to the large clock over the arrivals board, he had ten minutes left to get on the train to Hogwarts and he had no idea how to do it; he was stranded in the middle of a station with a trunk he could hardly lift, a pocket full of wizard money, and a large owl.**

**Hagrid must have forgotten to tell him something you had to do, like tapping the third brick on the left to get into Diagon Alley. He wondered if he should get out his wand and start tapping the ticket inspector's stand between platforms nine and ten.**

"No!" Cedric yelled.

"Though it would be funny," Angelina giggled.

**At that moment a group of people passed just behind him and he caught a few words of what they were saying.**

"— **packed with Muggles, of course —"**

**Harry swung round. The speaker was a plump woman who was talking to four boys, all with flaming red hair.**

"Hey, mum's not plump," Ron glared at Harry.

"Your mum's the best," Harry defended himself. "You really think I care about the way she looks?"

"Oh," the twins deflated and dropped their wands. "No, I guess not."

**Each of them was pushing a trunk like Harry's in front of him — and they had an** _**owl** _ **.**

"Ooh, an owl," Oliver chuckled.

"Follow them Harry," Alicia smiled.

"Umm? I did," Harry pointed out.

**Heart hammering, Harry pushed his cart after them. They stopped and so did he, just near enough to hear what they were saying.**

" **Now, what's the platform number?" said the boys' mother.**

"How in Merlin's name did she forget?" Katie asked. "She's got seven of you, five of whom were going to school that year?"

"Mum liked to keep us on our toes," Fred shrugged.

" **Nine and three-quarters!" piped a small girl, also red-headed, who was holding her hand, "Mom, can't I go…"**

"Ginny!" The twins smiled and Ron cheered.

" **You're not old enough, Ginny, now be quiet. All right, Percy, you go first."**

**What looked like the oldest boy marched toward platforms nine and ten.**

**Harry watched, careful not to blink in case he missed it — but just as the boy reached the dividing barrier between the two platforms, a large crowd of tourists came swarming in front of him and by the time the last backpack had cleared away, the boy had vanished.**

" **Fred, you next," the plump woman said.**

" **I'm not Fred, I'm George," said the boy. "Honestly, woman, you call yourself our mother? Can't you** _ **tell**_ **I'm George?"**

" **Sorry, George, dear."**

" **Only joking, I am Fred," said the boy, and off he went. His twin called after him to hurry up, and he must have done so, because a second later, he had gone — but how had he done it? Now the third brother was walking briskly toward the barrier he was almost there — and then, quite suddenly, he wasn't anywhere.**

"Sorry Harry," Fred said.

"Had we known, we'd have gone slower," George finished.

**There was nothing else for it.**

" **Excuse me," Harry said to the plump woman.**

" **Hello, dear," she said. "First time at Hogwarts? Ron's new, too."**

**She pointed at the last and youngest of her sons. He was tall, thin, and gangling, with freckles, big hands and feet, and a long nose.**

"Oh, thanks mate," Ron huffed.

"Anytime," Harry said with a smirk.

" **Yes," said Harry. "The thing is — the thing is, I don't know how to —"**

" **How to get onto the platform?" she said kindly, and Harry nodded.**

" **Not to worry," she said. "All you have to do is walk straight at the barrier between platforms nine and ten. Don't stop and don't be scared you'll crash into it, that's very important. Best do it at a bit of a run if you're nervous. Go on, go now before Ron."**

" **Er — okay," said Harry.**

"Mum thought you were so sweet," Ron whispered to Harry.

"Tell anyone and you're dead," Harry hissed back, his face flushed.

"It's nothing to be ashamed of," Ron said, smirking.

**He pushed his trolley around and stared at the barrier. It looked very solid.**

**He started to walk toward it. People jostled him on their way to platforms nine and ten. Harry walked more quickly. He was going to smash right into that barrier and then he'd be in trouble — leaning forward on his cart, he broke into a heavy run — the barrier was coming nearer and nearer — he wouldn't be able to stop — the cart was out of control — he was a foot away — he closed his eyes ready for the crash — It didn't come… he kept on running… he opened his eyes. A scarlet steam engine was waiting next to a platform packed with people. A sign overhead said** _**Hogwarts' Express, eleven o'clock** _ **. Harry looked behind him and saw a wrought-iron archway where the barrier had been, with the words** _**Platform Nine and Three-Quarters** _ **on it, He had done it.**

**Smoke from the engine drifted over the heads of the chattering crowd, while cats of every color wound here and there between their legs. Owls hooted to one another in a disgruntled sort of way over the babble and the scraping of heavy trunks.**

"I love the platform," Katie grinned.

"I don't," Cedric muttered. "Too noisy."

"You dislike it because your dad keeps talking so loudly on it," Cho said with a glare.

"That's a good reason to dislike it!'

**The first few carriages were already packed with students, some hanging out of the window to talk to their families, some fighting over seats. Harry pushed his cart off down the platform in search of an empty seat. He passed a round-faced boy who was saying, "Gran, I've lost my toad again."**

" **Oh,** _ **Neville**_ **," he heard the old woman sigh.**

"Gotta love that toad," Hermione giggled.

"Yeah, remember that one time…?" Harry said.

"Naw, the other time was even better," Ron said with a smile.

"If you're quite finished talking about something we've no clue about," George said with a glare. "I'd like to continue."

**A boy with dreadlocks was surrounded by a small crowd.**

"Lee!" smiled Fred and George.

" **Give us a look, Lee, go on."**

**The boy lifted the lid of a box in his arms, and the people around him shrieked and yelled as something inside poked out a long, hairy leg.**

Ron shuddered. "I hate spiders," he muttered.

"Sorry mate," Harry frowned. "Didn't know."

**Harry pressed on through the crowd until he found an empty compartment near the end of the train. He put Hedwig inside first and then started to shove and heave his trunk toward the train door. He tried to lift it up the steps but could hardly raise one end and twice he dropped it painfully on his foot.**

"Scrawny git."

"Oi!"

" **Want a hand?" It was one of the red-haired twins he'd followed through the barrier.**

"Thanks by the way," Harry grinned at the twins.

"No problem Harry." Fred grinned back.

" **Yes, please," Harry panted.**

" **Oy, Fred! C'mere and help!"**

**With the twins' help, Harry's trunk was at last tucked away in a corner of the compartment.**

" **Thanks," said Harry, pushing his sweaty hair out of his eyes.**

" **What's that?" said one of the twins suddenly, pointing at Harry's lightning scar.**

" **Blimey," said the other twin. "Are you —?"**

" **He is," said the first twin. "Aren't you?" he added to Harry.**

" **What?" said Harry.**

" _ **Harry Potter**_ **." chorused the twins.**

" **Oh, him," said Harry.**

Everyone looked at Harry in disbelief. Then Katie and Oliver began to chuckle and slowly a dam of laughter burst open.

"I'm glad you're all amused," Harry glowered.

"Sorry mate," Ron gasped. "But 'oh him?'"

"It was the first time I'd heard my name before," Harry muttered but he managed to kill the mood none the less.

" **I mean, yes, I am."**

**The two boys gawked at him, and Harry felt himself turning red. Then, to his relief, a voice came floating in through the train's open door.**

"You were also the first of _many_ students to gape at my scar," Harry said, glaring at the twins.

"Sorry mate."

" **Fred? George? Are you there?"**

" **Coming, Mum."**

"Merlin, gotta love mum," Fred grinned.

**With a last look at Harry, the twins hopped off the train.**

**Harry sat down next to the window where, half hidden, he could watch the red-haired family on the platform and hear what they were saying.**

"Harry, eavesdropping is bad," Fred frowned.

"We couldn't be more proud," George finished with a large grin.

**Their mother had just taken out her handkerchief.**

" **Ron, you've got something on your nose."**

**The youngest boy tried to jerk out of the way, but she grabbed him and began rubbing the end of his nose.**

"Well, that's one way of embarrassing your child right at the start of school," Cedric sighed. Everyone else was just chuckling. Well, except Ron and Harry.

" _ **Mom**_ — **geroff" He wriggled free.**

" **Aaah, has ickle Ronnie got somefink on his nosie?" said one of the twins.**

"Nice one, Gred," Fred smiled.

"I know, it was good." George smiled.

"I think you should read," Ron told his brother.

" **Shut up," said Ron.**

" **Where's Percy?" said their mother.**

" **He's coming now."**

**The oldest boy came striding into sight. He had already changed into his billowing black Hogwarts robes, and Harry noticed a red and gold badge on his chest with the letter** _**P** _ **on it.**

"Prat," the twins glared at the book.

"What did he do to them?" Harry whispered to Ron.

"Told Mum about some of their pranks last year before you showed up." Ron told him. "They were grounded for about three weeks."

" **Can't stay long, Mother," he said. "I'm up front, the prefects have got two compartments to themselves —"**

" **Oh, are you a** _ **prefect**_ **, Percy?" said one of the twins, with an air of great surprise. "You should have said something, we had no idea."**

" **Hang on, I think I remember him saying something about it," said the other twin. "Once —"**

" **Or twice —"**

" **A minute —"**

" **All summer —"**

"Nice one!" Katie laughed along with Angelina and Alicia. Cho and Hermione frowned but Ron, Cedric, Oliver and Harry chuckled.

" **Oh, shut up," said Percy the Prefect.**

" **How come Percy gets new robes, anyway?" said one of the twins.**

" **Because he's a** _ **prefect**_ **," said their mother fondly. "All right, dear, well, have a good term — send me an owl when you get there."**

**She kissed Percy on the cheek and he left. Then she turned to the twins.**

" **Now, you two — this year, you behave yourselves. If I get one more owl telling me you've — you've blown up a toilet or —"**

"She gave them an idea," Cho shook her head.

"Never give a prankster ideas," Oliver chuckled.

" **Blown up a toilet? We've never blown up a toilet."**

"But they will," Harry grinned, remembering the toilet seat that was mentioned by the headmaster when he was in the Hospital wing.

" **Great idea though, thanks, Mom."**

" **It's** _ **not funny**_ **. And look after Ron."**

" **Don't worry, ickle Ronniekins is safe with us."**

"No, I think I'm safer with Harry," Ron whispered to Hermione.

" **Shut up," said Ron again. He was almost as tall as the twins already and his nose was still pink where his mother had rubbed it.**

"Mate…" Ron groaned.

"Sorry," Harry grinned sheepishly.

" **Hey, Mom, guess what? Guess who we just met on the train?"**

**Harry leaned back quickly so they couldn't see him looking.**

" **You know that black-haired boy who was near us in the station? Know who he is?"**

" **Who?"**

" _ **Harry Potter**_ **!"**

**Harry heard the little girl's voice.**

" **Oh, Mom, can I go on the train and see him, Mom, eh please…"**

"Harry's got a fan girl," Oliver chuckled.

"Oliver, that's our sister you're talking about," the twins glared at their captain.

" **You've already seen him, Ginny, and the poor boy isn't something you goggle at in a zoo. Is he really, Fred? How do you know?"**

"Aw, that was nice of your mum," Angelina said.

" **Asked him. Saw his scar. It's really there — like lightning."**

" **Poor** _ **dear**_ — **no wonder he was alone, I wondered. He was ever so polite when he asked how to get onto the platform."**

" **Never mind that, do you think he remembers what You-Know-Who looks like?"**

"You didn't, did you?" Cho asked.

"No," Fred shook his head.

**Their mother suddenly became very stern.**

" **I forbid you to ask him, Fred. No, don't you dare. As though he needs reminding of that on his first day at school."**

Ron smirked, but no one noticed.

" **All right, keep your hair on."**

**A whistle sounded.**

" **Hurry up!" their mother said, and the three boys clambered onto the train. They leaned out of the window for her to kiss them good-bye, and their younger sister began to cry.**

" **Don't, Ginny, we'll send you loads of owls."**

" **We'll send you a Hogwarts' toilet seat."**

"I don't think we ever did," Fred whispered to George.

"We sent Harry one, does that count?"

"No I don't think it does."

" _ **George!**_ "

" **Only joking, Mom."**

**The train began to move. Harry saw the boys' mother waving and their sister, half laughing, half crying, running to keep up with the train until it gathered too much speed, then she fell back and waved.**

"Aw, how cute." Alicia cooed.

"Ginny would kill you if she heard that," Fred told her.

**Harry watched the girl and her mother disappear as the train rounded the corner. Houses flashed past the window. Harry felt a great leap of excitement. He didn't know what he was going to — but it had to be better than what he was leaving behind.**

**The door of the compartment slid open and the youngest redheaded boy came in.**

" **Anyone sitting there?" he asked, pointing at the seat opposite Harry. "Everywhere else is full."**

"Ron!" The twins cheered.

**Harry shook his head and the boy sat down. He glanced at Harry and then looked quickly out of the window, pretending he hadn't looked. Harry saw he still had a black mark on his nose.**

"Darn that mark," Ron muttered.

"You were told like three times," Hermione chuckled.

" **Hey, Ron."**

**The twins were back.**

"Yay!"

" **Listen, we're going down the middle of the train — Lee Jordan's got a giant tarantula down there."**

Ron shuddered at the mention of that tarantula.

"Hey, what ever happened to it?" Katie asked.

"Hedwig ate it," Harry smiled sheepishly. "Tell Lee I'm sorry."

"No problem Harry," Fred told him. "Lee thinks that we took it for a prank and it died during the experiment."

"FRED!" All the girls yelled. No matter that it was a spider, that poor animal did not deserve to be treated so cruelly.

"Hey, I said that it's the story we told Lee. We wouldn't really have done it."

" **Right," mumbled Ron.**

" **Harry," said the other twin, "did we introduce ourselves? Fred and George Weasley.**

"Whoo!" the twins cheered at their introduction.

**And this is Ron, our brother. See you later, then."**

" **Bye," said Harry and Ron. The twins slid the compartment door shut behind them.**

" **Are you really Harry Potter?" Ron blurted out.**

"No, I'm Winston Churchill. Pleased to meet you." Harry said dryly.

Hermione and Katie chuckled at Harry's joke, but everyone else just looked on blankly.

**Harry nodded.**

" **Oh — well, I thought it might be one of Fred and George's jokes," said Ron. "And have you really got — you know…"**

**He pointed at Harry's forehead.**

**Harry pulled back his bangs to show the lightning scar. Ron stared.**

"Sorry mate," Ron whispered to Harry.

"You haven't anything to apologize for," Harry whispered back. "I'd have done the same thing if I were you."

" **So that's where You-Know-Who —?"**

" **Yes," said Harry, "but I can't remember it."**

" **Nothing?" said Ron eagerly.**

"Didn't your mother tell you not to ask that?" Alicia asked Ron.

"She told Fred," Ron smirked. "I took advantage of a technicality."

" **Well — I remember a lot of green light, but nothing else."**

" **Wow," said Ron. He sat and stared at Harry for a few moments, then, as though he had suddenly realized what he was doing, he looked quickly out of the window again.**

" **Are all your family wizards?" asked Harry, who found Ron just as interesting as Ron found him.**

"Why?" Fred asked.

"We're much more fascinating," George said, puffing out his chest.

"Ron was in the compartment," Harry said rolling his eyes.

" **Er — Yes, I think so," said Ron. "I think Mom's got a second cousin who's an accountant, but we never talk about him."**

"Why?" Harry asked. "I meant to ask why but—"

"He's like your aunt," Fred said with a serious face. "Trust me, you're glad you haven't met him."

" **So you must know loads of magic already."**

**The Weasleys were clearly one of those old wizarding families the pale boy in Diagon Alley had talked about.**

The twins made a face that could have rivaled Snape's.

"Harry…" Ron gasped.

"It was before I knew it was Malfoy," Harry tried to placate his mate.

"Oh." Fred said simply.

" **I heard you went to live with Muggles," said Ron. "What are they like?"**

" **Horrible — well, not all of them. My aunt and uncle and cousin are, though. Wish I'd had three wizard brothers."**

" **Five," said Ron. For some reason, he was looking gloomy.**

"You know," Cedric said. "That is a lot of kids."

"Mum always wanted a big family, or at least that's what she told Bill when he asked why he had so many siblings," Ron said quietly.

"You were one when he asked that," Fred told him.

"I heard Percy ask when I was seven. Bill answered for her."

" **I'm the sixth in our family to go to Hogwarts.**

**You could say I've got a lot to live up to. Bill and Charlie have already left — Bill was head boy and Charlie was captain of Quidditch.**

"One of them has their priorities straight," Oliver nodded.

**Now Percy's a prefect. Fred and George mess around a lot, but they still get really good marks and everyone thinks they're really funny. Everyone expects me to do as well as the others, but if I do, it's no big deal, because they did it first.**

The twins looked over at their little brother, who was currently looking down at his trainers. How could they have gone so long and not realized how Ron felt?

"Gred, we're going to have a little chat with Ron after this chapter right?" Fred whispered to his twin.

"You bet Forge," George whispered back.

**You never get anything new, either, with five brothers. I've got Bill's old robes, Charlie's old wand, and Percy's old rat."**

**Ron reached inside his jacket and pulled out a fat gray rat, which was asleep.**

"Scabbers!" The twins and Ron cheered.

" **His name's Scabbers and he's useless, he hardly ever wakes up.**

"A lazy pet for a lazy kid," Fred teased.

"OI!"

**Percy got an owl from my dad for being made a prefect, but they couldn't aff — I mean, I got Scabbers instead."**

**Ron's ears went pink.**

**He seemed to think he'd said too much, because he went back to staring out of the window.**

**Harry didn't think there was anything wrong with not being able to afford an owl. After all, he'd never had any money in his life until a month ago, and he told Ron so, all about having to wear Dudley's old clothes and never getting proper birthday presents. This seemed to cheer Ron up.**

"Nice, Ron." Hermione said with an eye roll.

"… **and until Hagrid told me, I didn't know anything about being a wizard or about my parents or Voldemort —"**

**Ron gasped.**

" **What?" said Harry.**

" _ **You said You-Know-Who's name!**_ " **said Ron, sounding both shocked and impressed. "I'd have thought you, of all people —"**

"It's just a name," Harry sighed at everyone's reaction.

" **I'm not trying to be** _ **brave**_ **or anything, saying the name," said Harry, "I just never knew you shouldn't. See what I mean? I've got loads to learn… I bet," he added, voicing for the first time something that had been worrying him a lot lately, "I bet I'm the worst in the class."**

"No, that's Goyle's position," Ron muttered to Harry and Hermione and they bit down on their cheeks to stop from bursting out in laughter.

" **You won't be. There's loads of people who come from Muggle families and they learn quick enough."**

**While they had been talking, the train had carried them out of London. Now they were speeding past fields full of cows and sheep. They were quiet for a time, watching the fields and lanes flick past.**

**Around half past twelve there was a great clattering outside in the corridor and a smiling, dimpled woman slid back their door and said, "Anything off the cart, dears?"**

"I missed that this year," Harry pouted.

"Well it's your own fault for missing the train," Hermione rolled her eyes.

"It wasn't our fault." Ron backed up Harry.

**Harry, who hadn't had any breakfast, leapt to his feet, but Ron's ears went pink again and he muttered that he'd brought sandwiches. Harry went out into the corridor.**

**He had never had any money for candy with the Dursleys, and now that he had pockets rattling with gold and silver he was ready to buy as many Mars Bars as he could carry** — **but the woman didn't have Mars Bars. What she did have were Bettie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, Drooble's Best Blowing Gum, Chocolate Frogs. Pumpkin Pasties, Cauldron Cakes, Licorice Wands, and a number of other strange things Harry had never seen in his life. Not wanting to miss anything, he got some of everything and paid the woman eleven silver Sickles and seven bronze Knuts.**

"Whoa, that's a lot of candy," Cedric gasped.

"I was hungry and didn't want to miss out on anything," Harry defended himself.

**Ron stared as Harry brought it all back in to the compartment and tipped it onto an empty seat.**

" **Hungry, are you?"**

" **Starving,"**

"Did Ron and Harry switch bodies?" Fred asked.

**said Harry, taking a large bite out of a pumpkin pasty.**

**Ron had taken out a lumpy package and unwrapped it. There were four sandwiches inside. He pulled one of them apart and said, "She always forgets I don't like corned beef…"**

" **Swap you for one of these," said Harry, holding up a pasty. "Go on —"**

" **You don't want this, it's all dry," said Ron. "She hasn't got much time," he added quickly, "you know, with five of us."**

" **Go on, have a pasty," said Harry, who had never had anything to share before or, indeed, anyone to share it with. It was a nice feeling, sitting there with Ron, eating their way through all Harry's pasties, cakes, and candies (the sandwiches lay forgotten).**

Hermione giggled. "So that's how you two became mates."

"Better than the way Lee and the twins did," Oliver said with a grin.

"Yeah, didn't they prank him?" Katie giggled.

" **What are these?" Harry asked Ron, holding up a pack of Chocolate Frogs.**

"Food," Fred moaned.

"You just ate!" Hermione said in shock.

"They're boys," Katie said. "They're the human equivalent of bottomless pits."

"OI!" Harry yelled indignantly.

" **They're not** _ **really**_ **frogs, are they?" He was starting to feel that nothing would surprise him.**

" **No," said Ron. "But see what the card is. I'm missing Agrippa."**

"I'm just missing Ptolemy, I've got about five of Agrippa." Cedric muttered.

"Really?" Ron beamed.

"Yeah. After we're done, I'll give one to you."

"Sweet!"

" **What?"**

" **Oh, of course, you wouldn't know — Chocolate Frogs have cards, inside them, you know, to collect — famous witches and wizards. I've got about five hundred, but I haven't got Agrippa or Ptolemy."**

**Harry unwrapped his Chocolate Frog and picked up the card. It showed a man's face. He wore half-moon glasses, had a long, crooked nose, and flowing silver hair, beard, and mustache. Underneath the picture was the name Albus Dumbledore.**

"Whoo!" Everyone in the room cheered.

" **So** _ **this**_ **is Dumbledore!" said Harry.**

" **Don't tell me you'd never heard of Dumbledore!" said Ron. "Can I have a frog? I might get Agrippa — thanks —"**

"I lived with muggles mate," Harry chuckled. "Of course I didn't know who Dumbledore was."

**Harry turned over his card and read:**

_**ALBUS DUMBLEDORE** _

_**CURRENTLY HEADMASTER OF HOGWARTS** _

_**Considered by many the greatest wizard of modern times, Dumbledore is particularly famous for his defeat of the dark wizard Grindelwald in 1945, for the discovery of the twelve uses of dragon's blood, and his work on alchemy with his partner, Nicolas Flamel. Professor Dumbledore enjoys chamber music and tenpin bowling.** _

**Harry turned the card back over and saw, to his astonishment, that Dumbledore's face had disappeared.**

" **He's gone!"**

"Well, can't expect him to hang around all day," Oliver said with a chuckle.

" **Well, you can't expect him to hang around all day," said Ron.**

"Oliver's like Ron!" Fred gasped.

"Run for your lives!" George yelled.

" **He'll be back. No, I've got Morgana again and I've got about six of her… do you want it? You can start collecting."**

**Ron's eyes strayed to the pile of Chocolate Frogs waiting to be unwrapped. "Help yourself," said Harry. "But in, you know, the Muggle world, people just stay put in photos."**

"Wicked," Ron said. Hermione shook her head in amusement.

" **Do they? What, they don't move at all?" Ron sounded amazed. "** _ **Weird!"**_

**Harry stared as Dumbledore sidled back into the picture on his card and gave him a small smile. Ron was more interested in eating the frogs than looking at the Famous Witches and Wizards cards, but Harry couldn't keep his eyes off them. Soon he had not only Dumbledore and Morgana, but Hengist of Woodcroft, Alberic Grunnion, Circe, Paracelsus, and Merlin. He finally tore his eyes away from the Druidess Cliodna, who was scratching her nose, to open a bag of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans.**

"Bleh," Katie made a face at the mention of the beans.

"Bad experience?" Alicia asked her friend.

"You think?"

" **You want to be careful with those," Ron warned Harry. "When they say every flavor, they** _ **mean**_ **every flavor — you know, you get all the ordinary ones like chocolate and peppermint and marmalade, but then you can get spinach and liver and tripe. George reckons he had a booger-flavored one once."**

"I did!" George insisted.

**Ron picked up a green bean, looked at it carefully, and bit into a corner.**

" **Bleaaargh — see? Sprouts."**

**Every Flavor Beans. Harry got toast, coconut, baked bean, strawberry, curry, grass, coffee, sardine, and was even brave enough to nibble the end off a funny gray one Ron wouldn't touch, which turned out to be pepper.**

"Gryffindor."

"We know, Ronald." Hermione sighed.

**The countryside now flying past the window was becoming wilder. The neat fields had gone. Now there were woods, twisting rivers, and dark green hills.**

**There was a knock on the door of their compartment and the round-faced boy Harry had passed on platform nine and three-quarters came in. He looked tearful.**

" **Sorry," he said, "but have you seen a toad at all?"**

**When they shook their heads, he wailed, "I've lost him! He keeps getting away from me!"**

" **He'll turn up," said Harry.**

"At least one of you has manners," Alicia shook her head and giggled.

" **Yes," said the boy miserably. "Well, if you see him…"**

**He left.**

" **Don't know why he's so bothered," said Ron. "If I'd brought a toad I'd lose it as quick as I could. Mind you, I brought Scabbers, so I can't talk."**

"That's right. You brought Scabbers," Hermione said with a glare. "So don't make fun of Neville."

**The rat was still snoozing on Ron's lap.**

" **He might have died and you wouldn't know the difference," said Ron in disgust. "I tried to turn him yellow yesterday to make him more interesting, but the spell didn't work. I'll show you, look…"**

**He rummaged around in his trunk and pulled out a very battered-looking wand. It was chipped in places and something white was glinting at the end.**

" **Unicorn hair's nearly poking out. Anyway —"**

"You should get a new one," Cedric said with a frown. "That one's not going to work too well."

**He had just raised his wand when the compartment door slid open again. The toadless boy was back, but this time he had a girl with him. She was already wearing her new Hogwarts robes.**

"Anxious, Hermione?" Cho asked the young girl with a small smile.

"More like excited," Hermione said with a small grin of her own.

" **Has anyone seen a toad? Neville's lost one," she said. She had a bossy sort of voice, lots of bushy brown hair, and rather large front teeth.**

"Nice description," Fred said through his laughter.

"Worse than Ron's," George chuckled.

" **We've already told him we haven't seen it," said Ron, but the girl wasn't listening, she was looking at the wand in his hand.**

" **Oh, are you doing magic? Let's see it, then."**

**She sat down. Ron looked taken aback.**

" **Er — all right."**

**He cleared his throat.**

" **Sunshine, daisies, butter mellow, Turn this stupid, fat rat yellow."**

Fred and George burst out laughing until Harry made good with his promise and whacked them with one of their bats.

"Merlin Harry!" Fred yelled.

"That hurt!" George winced, rubbing his arm.

"That's what you get for making a fool out of your little brother," Angelina said with a glare.

**He waved his wand, but nothing happened. Scabbers stayed gray and fast asleep.**

" **Are you sure that's a real spell?" said the girl. "Well, it's not very good, is it?**

"Hermione," Katie said with a small frown. "Don't you think that was a little mean?"

"I was trying to make friends," Hermione said, looking down at her shoes. "I was kind of new to the whole thing."

**I've tried a few simple spells just for practice and it's all worked for me. Nobody in my family's magic at all, it was ever such a surprise when I got my letter, but I was ever so pleased, of course, I mean, it's the very best school of witchcraft there is, I've heard — I've learned all our course books by heart,**

**of course, I just hope it will be enough — I'm Hermione Granger, by the way, who are you?"**

**She said all this very fast.**

"Did I really?" Hermione said with a flush.

"Yeah." Ron nodded.

"It was like trying to watch a game of cricket," Harry told her.

**Harry looked at Ron, and was relieved to see by his stunned face that he hadn't learned all the course books by heart either.**

"No one did," Ron said. "Except Hermione."

"That's because she's the smartest witch of her age," Fred said in a bored tone.

" **I'm Ron Weasley," Ron muttered.**

" **Harry Potter," said Harry.**

" **Are you really?" said Hermione.**

" **I know all about you, of course — I got a few extra books, for background reading, and you're in** _ **Modern Magical History**_ **and** _ **The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts**_ **and** _ **Great Wizarding Events of the Twentieth Century**_ **."**

"Did you ever read those books?" Hermione asked.

"No," Harry chuckled. "I've had some more pressing matters at hand like trying to prevent Voldemort from returning to power." He whispered the last part.

"You have a point," Hermione sighed.

" **Am I?" said Harry, feeling dazed.**

" **Goodness, didn't you know, I'd have found out everything I could if it was me," said Hermione. "Do either of you know what house you'll be in? I've been asking around, and I hope I'm in Gryffindor, it sounds by far the best;**

"You got that right," Alicia said with a grin. Cho and Cedric frowned though, their houses were just as good.

**I hear Dumbledore himself was in it, but I suppose Ravenclaw wouldn't be too bad… Anyway, we'd better go and look for Neville's toad. You two had better change, you know, I expect we'll be there soon.**

**And she left, taking the toadless boy with her.**

" **Whatever house I'm in, I hope she's not in it," said Ron.**

"Gee, thanks." Hermione said.

"That was before we really got to know you," Ron said. "We'd be useless without you."

Hermione beamed at the complement.

**He threw his wand back into his trunk. "Stupid spell — George gave it to me, bet he knew it was a dud."**

" **What house are your brothers in?" asked Harry.**

" **Gryffindor," said Ron. Gloom seemed to be settling on him again. "Mom and Dad were in it, too. I don't know what they'll say if I'm not. I don't suppose Ravenclaw** _ **would**_ **be too bad, but imagine if they put me in Slytherin."**

"We'd still love you, Ron." Fred said.

"We'd just prank you more often," George told him.

" **That's the house Vol-, I mean, You-Know-Who was in?"**

" **Yeah," said Ron. He flopped back into his seat, looking depressed.**

" **You know, I think the ends of Scabbers' whiskers are a bit lighter," said Harry, trying to take Ron's mind off houses.**

"You are a good friend," Fred said with a grin. He still couldn't believe that his little brother had bought that fake spell.

" **So what do your oldest brothers do now that they've left, anyway?"**

**Harry was wondering what a wizard did once he'd finished school.**

" **Charlie's in Romania studying dragons, and Bill's in Africa doing something for Gringotts," said Ron.**

"Charlie is awesome," Katie said.

"Not really, I mean choosing dragons over Quidditch?" Oliver frowned. "Who does that?"

" **Did you hear about Gringotts? It's been all over the** _ **Daily Prophet**_ **, but I don't suppose you get that with the Muggles — someone tried to rob a high security vault."**

**Harry stared.**

" **Really? What happened to them?"**

" **Nothing, that's why it's such big news. They haven't been caught.**

"How'd Quirrell manage not to stutter through the whole thing?" Ron muttered to Harry.

**My dad says it must've been a powerful Dark wizard to get round Gringotts,**

Harry and Ron repressed snorts.

**but they don't think they took anything, that's what's odd. 'Course, everyone gets scared when something like this happens in case You-Know-Who's behind it."**

"He was," Harry muttered to Ron and Hermione.

**Harry turned this news over in his mind. He was starting to get a prickle of fear every time You-Know-Who was mentioned. He supposed this was all part of entering the magical world, but it had been a lot more comfortable saying "Voldemort" without worrying.**

"Good, don't say the name," Alicia nodded.

"Umm? I do though," Harry told her.

" **What's your Quidditch team?" Ron asked.**

" **Er — I don't know any." Harry confessed.**

"No!" Oliver yelled.

"Calm down Oliver. I do now," Harry assured his distraught captain.

" **What!" Ron looked dumbfounded. "Oh, you wait, it's the best game in the world —" And he was off, explaining all about the four balls and the positions of the seven players, describing famous games he'd been to with his brothers and the broomstick he'd like to get if he had the money. He was just taking Harry through the finer points of the game when the compartment door slid open yet again, but it wasn't Neville the toadless boy, or Hermione Granger this time.**

**Three boys entered, and Harry recognized the middle one at once: it was the pale boy from Madam Malkin's robe shop.**

"No," Fred moaned.

"Please not Malfoy," Katie begged.

**He was looking at Harry with a lot more interest than he'd shown back in Diagon Alley.**

"Of course," everyone rolled their eyes.

" **Is it true?" he said. "They're saying all down the train that Harry Potter's in this compartment. So it's you, is it?"**

" **Yes," said Harry. He was looking at the other boys. Both of them were thickset and looked extremely mean. Standing on either side of the pale boy, they looked like bodyguards.**

"They are," Ron muttered to Harry.

"Don't I know it?" Harry muttered back.

" **Oh, this is Crabbe and this is Goyle," said the pale boy carelessly, noticing where Harry was looking. "And my name's Malfoy, Draco Malfoy."**

Hermione snorted. At everyone's look, she said, "His name translates out to be Dragon Badfaith. His parents really didn't love him all that much."

**Ron gave a slight cough, which might have been hiding a snigger. Draco Malfoy looked at him.**

" **Think my name's funny, do you? No need to ask who you are. My father told me all the Weasleys have red hair, freckles, and more children than they can afford."**

Everyone glared at the book.

**He turned back to Harry. "You'll soon find out some wizarding families are much better than others, Potter. You don't want to go making friends with the wrong sort. I can help you there."**

"Don't you dare—"

"Keep reading George," Harry cut off Alicia's rant.

**He held out his hand to shake Harry's, but Harry didn't take it.**

"Good," the twins and Ron said with a smile.

"You all know I didn't," Harry said chuckling.

" **I think I can tell who the wrong sort are for myself, thanks," he said coolly.**

**Draco Malfoy didn't go red, but a pink tinge appeared in his pale cheeks.**

" **I'd be careful if I were you, Potter," he said slowly. "Unless you're a bit politer you'll go the same way as your parents.**

"The nerve of that little…" Oliver glared.

"I think we've found a new prank subject, right Gred?"

"You bet Forge."

**They didn't know what was good for them, either. You hang around with riffraff like the Weasleys and that Hagrid, and it'll rub off on you."**

**Both Harry and Ron stood up.**

"Go Ron!" the twins cheered as their youngest brother turned bright red.

" **Say that again," Ron said, his face as red as his hair.**

" **Oh, you're going to fight us, are you?" Malfoy sneered.**

"Probably," Hermione sighed. "But you're asking for it."

" **Unless you get out now," said Harry, more bravely than he felt, because Crabbe and Goyle were a lot bigger than him or Ron.**

" **But we don't feel like leaving, do we, boys? We've eaten all our food and you still seem to have some."**

**Goyle reached toward the Chocolate Frogs next to Ron — Ron leapt forward, but before he'd so much as touched Goyle, Goyle let out a horrible yell.**

**Scabbers the rat was hanging off his finger, sharp little teeth sunk deep into Goyle's knuckle**

"Go Scabbers!" everyone cheered.

— **Crabbe and Malfoy backed away as Goyle swung Scabbers round and round, howling, and when Scabbers finally flew off and hit the window, all three of them disappeared at once. Perhaps they thought there were more rats lurking among the sweets, or perhaps they'd heard footsteps, because a second later, Hermione Granger had come in.**

"Not the time Hermione," Fred chuckled.

" **What** _ **has**_ **been going on?" she said, looking at the sweets all over the floor and Ron picking up Scabbers by his tail.**

" **I think he's been knocked out," Ron said to Harry. He looked closer at Scabbers. "No — I don't believe it — he's gone back to sleep."**

"Go Scabbers!" the twins cheered.

**And so he had.**

" **You've met Malfoy before?"**

**Harry explained about their meeting in Diagon Alley.**

" **I've heard of his family," said Ron darkly. "They were some of the first to come back to our side after You-Know-Who disappeared. Said they'd been bewitched. My dad doesn't believe it. He says Malfoy's father didn't need an excuse to go over to the Dark Side." He turned to Hermione. "Can we help you with something?"**

" **You'd better hurry up and put your robes on, I've just been up to the front to ask the conductor, and he says we're nearly there. You haven't been fighting, have you? You'll be in trouble before we even get there!"**

"No, we'll save that for our second year," Harry muttered to Ron.

" **Scabbers has been fighting, not us," said Ron, scowling at her. "Would you mind leaving while we change?"**

" **All right — I only came in here because people outside are behaving very childishly, racing up and down the corridors," said Hermione in a sniffy voice.**

"Sniffy?" Hermione glared at Ron and Harry.

"Umm? No?" Harry said, with a small grin.

" **And you've got dirt on your nose, by the way, did you know?"**

**Ron glared at her as she left. Harry peered out of the window. It was getting dark. He could see mountains and forests under a deep purple sky. The train did seem to be slowing down.**

**He and Ron took off their jackets and pulled on their long black robes. Ron's were a bit short for him, you could see his sneakers underneath them.**

**A voice echoed through the train: "We will be reaching Hogwarts in five minutes' time. Please leave your luggage on the train, it will be taken to the school separately."**

**Harry's stomach lurched with nerves and Ron, he saw, looked pale under his freckles. They crammed their pockets with the last of the sweets and joined the crowd thronging the corridor.**

**The train slowed right down and finally stopped. People pushed their way toward the door and out on to a tiny, dark platform. Harry shivered in the cold night air. Then a lamp came bobbing over the heads of the students, and Harry heard a familiar voice: "Firs' years! Firs' years over here! All right there, Harry?"**

"Hagrid!"

**Hagrid's big hairy face beamed over the sea of heads.**

" **C'mon, follow me — any more firs' years? Mind yer step, now! Firs' years follow me!"**

**Slipping and stumbling, they followed Hagrid down what seemed to be a steep, narrow path. It was so dark on either side of them that Harry thought there must be thick trees there. Nobody spoke much. Neville, the boy who kept losing his toad, sniffed once or twice.**

" **Yeh'll get yer firs' sight o' Hogwarts in a sec," Hagrid called over his shoulder, "jus' round this bend here."**

**There was a loud "Oooooh!"**

**The narrow path had opened suddenly onto the edge of a great black lake. Perched atop a high mountain on the other side, its windows sparkling in the starry sky, was a vast castle with many turrets and towers.**

"I loved that image when I was a first year," Cho sighed.

" **No more'n four to a boat!" Hagrid called, pointing to a fleet of little boats sitting in the water by the shore. Harry and Ron were followed into their boat by Neville and Hermione.**

" **Everyone in?" shouted Hagrid, who had a boat to himself. "Right then — FORWARD!"**

**And the fleet of little boats moved off all at once, gliding across the lake, which was as smooth as glass. Everyone was silent, staring up at the great castle overhead. It towered over them as they sailed nearer and nearer to the cliff on which it stood.**

" **Heads down!" yelled Hagrid as the first boats reached the cliff; they all bent their heads and the little boats carried them through a curtain of ivy that hid a wide opening in the cliff face. They were carried along a dark tunnel, which seemed to be taking them right underneath the castle, until they reached a kind of underground harbor, where they clambered out onto rocks and pebbles.**

" **Oy, you there! Is this your toad?" said Hagrid, who was checking the boats as people climbed out of them.**

" **Trevor!" cried Neville blissfully, holding out his hands. Then they clambered up a passageway in the rock after Hagrid's lamp, coming out at last onto smooth, damp grass right in the shadow of the castle.**

**They walked up a flight of stone steps and crowded around the huge, oak front door.**

" **Everyone here? You there, still got yer toad?"**

**Hagrid raised a gigantic fist and knocked three times on the castle door.**

"Alright," George said. "Who's next?"

"Harry!" Hermione said. Harry groaned.

"Can't I go last?" he asked.

"No!"

"Give me the ruddy thing." Harry said and took the book. "The next chapter's called The Sorting Hat."


	7. Chapter 7

"Hey Harry," Fred said. "Could we take a five minute break?"

"Sure," Harry said, excited to delay his reading time. Fred and George motioned for Ron to follow them into the captain's office down the hall from the changing room.

"Ron," Fred said once they closed the door. "Why didn't you tell us you felt inferior?"

Ron glared. "Would you have listened?"

George looked at Fred in shame. They both knew that they probably wouldn't have listened to their baby brother. That was Percy's job, or Bill's. Maybe even Charlie's. Not their's.

"I was afraid I'd feel invisible," Ron continued oblivious, looking down at his trainers. "Bill was first, Charlie was Quidditch Captain, Percy's a prefect and you guys have the best reputation as jokesters that I know. It's just hard."

"Hey," Fred said getting down to his brother's level. "We may be pranksters, and we may give you a hard time about things but we would never try to make you feel invisible."

"That's Giny's job," George said with a semi-grin, attempting to cheer his brother up. It worked. Ron looked back up at them with a smile bright enough to light Hogwarts.

"Now," Fred said. "Let's go back in there and read about your first year, shall we?"

They walked out and sat back down.

"Thanks Harry." George said. "You can read now."

" **The Sorting Hat,** " Harry read. He was nervous because he didn't know how everyone would react to him almost becoming a Slytherin.

**The door swung open at once. A tall, black-haired witch in emerald-green robes stood there. She had a very stern face and Harry's first thought was that this was not someone to cross.**

"Then why do you do it?" Hermione asked the two boys.

"McGonagall loves us, she just doesn't want to admit it," Ron said with a smirk.

"I've never been more proud to call him my brother," Fred said with a fake sob.

" **The firs' years, Professor McGonagall," said Hagrid.**

" **Thank you, Hagrid. I will take them from here."**

**She pulled the door wide. The entrance hall was so big you could have fit the whole of the Dursleys' house in it. The stone walls were lit with flaming torches like the ones at Gringotts, the ceiling was too high to make out, and a magnificent marble staircase facing them led to the upper floors.**

"I love those staircases," Fred sighed. "They provide perfect hiding spots for when you're pranking someone."

**They followed Professor McGonagall across the flagged stone floor. Harry could hear the drone of hundreds of voices from a doorway to the right — the rest of the school must already be here — but Professor McGonagall showed the first years into a small, empty chamber off the hall. They crowded in, standing rather closer together than they would usually have done, peering about nervously.**

"Aww," the girls cooed.

"Hermione, why are you cooing?" Harry asked with a glare.

"Yeah, you were just as nervous," Ron said.

" **Welcome to Hogwarts," said Professor McGonagall. "The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your house will be something like your family within Hogwarts.**

"For some, it's even true," Cedric said with a smile to the Weasley boys.

**You will have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your house dormitory, and spend free time in your house common room.**

"What free time?" Hermione asked Harry and Ron.

"I don't know. Tell me when you find some." Harry said.

" **The four houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Each house has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your house points, while any rulebreaking will lose house points.**

"Something these two—" Oliver said, pointing to the twins—"have yet to learn."

"We haven't either," Harry whispered to Ron.

**At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the house cup, a great honor. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever house becomes yours.**

" **The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I suggest you all smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting."**

"Like the Sorting Hat cares," Angelina scoffed.

**Her eyes lingered for a moment on Neville's cloak, which was fastened under his left ear, and on Ron's smudged nose.**

**Harry nervously tried to flatten his hair.**

"Won't work mate," Ron said. He was still a little put out at the mention of the smudge _again_.

" **I shall return when we are ready for you," said Professor McGonagall. "Please wait quietly."**

**She left the chamber. Harry swallowed.**

" **How exactly do they sort us into houses?" he asked Ron.**

"Put on a hat," everyone in the room said with a smile.

" **Some sort of test, I think. Fred said it hurts a lot, but I think he was joking."**

"Ron, stop listening to your brothers," Alicia said, glaring at said twins.

**Harry's heart gave a horrible jolt. A test? In front of the whole school? But he didn't know any magic yet —what on earth would he have to do? He hadn't expected something like this the moment they arrived.**

"You'll be fine, Harry." Katie said with a small smile.

**He looked around anxiously and saw that everyone else looked terrified, too. No one was talking much except Hermione Granger, who was whispering very fast about all the spells she'd learned and wondering which one she'd need.**

"You're brilliant Hermione, though a bit scary at times," Oliver said.

**Harry tried hard not to listen to her. He'd never been more nervous, never, not even when he'd had to take a school report home to the Dursleys saying that he'd somehow turned his teacher's wig blue.**.

"Awesome," the twins cheered. "Are you _sure_ you don't want to be a prankster?"

"I'm sure." Harry chuckled.

**He kept his eyes fixed on the door. Any second now, Professor McGonagall would come back and lead him to his doom.**

"Dramatic much, Harry?" Fred asked with a chuckle.

**Then something happened that made him jump about a foot in the air — several people behind him screamed.**

"What happened?" Alicia asked, worried.

"You'll see," Ron said.

" **What the —?"**

**He gasped. So did the people around him. About twenty ghosts had just streamed through the back wall. Pearly-white and slightly transparent, they glided across the room talking to one another and hardly glancing at the first years. They seemed to be arguing.**

"Ah, it's just the ghosts." Katie sighed.

**What looked like a fat little monk was saying: "Forgive and forget, I say, we ought to give him a second chance —"**

"Fat Friar," Cedric grinned.

" **My dear Friar, haven't we given Peeves all the chances he deserves? He gives us all a bad name and you know, he's not really even a ghost — I say, what are you all doing here?"**

**A ghost wearing a ruff and tights had suddenly noticed the first years.**

"Nick!" The twins cheered.

**Nobody answered.**

" **New students!" said the Fat Friar, smiling around at them. "About to be Sorted, I suppose?"**

**A few people nodded mutely.**

" **Hope to see you in Hufflepuff!" said the Friar. "My old house, you know."**

"Go Hufflepuff" Cedric cheered.

" **Move along now," said a sharp voice. "The Sorting Ceremony's about to start."**

**Professor McGonagall had returned. One by one, the ghosts floated away through the opposite wall.**

" **Now, form a line," Professor McGonagall told the first years, "and follow me."**

**Feeling oddly as though his legs had turned to lead, Harry got into line behind a boy with sandy hair, with Ron behind him, and they walked out of the chamber, back across the hall, and through a pair of double doors into the Great Hall.**

**Harry had never even imagined such a strange and splendid place.**

"It is wonderful isn't it," Alicia smiled.

**It was lit by thousands and thousands of candles that were floating in midair over four long tables, where the rest of the students were sitting. These tables were laid with glittering golden plates and goblets. At the top of the hall was another long table where the teachers were sitting. Professor McGonagall led the first years up here, so that they came to a halt in a line facing the other students, with the teachers behind them. The hundreds of faces staring at them looked like pale lanterns in the flickering candlelight. Dotted here and there among the students, the ghosts shone misty silver. Mainly to avoid all the staring eyes, Harry looked upward and saw a velvety black ceiling dotted with stars. He heard Hermione whisper, "Its bewitched to look like the sky outside. I read about it in** _**Hogwarts, A History** _ **."**

"Did you sleep at all, Hermione?" Oliver asked.

"Yes, I did." Hermione said with a glare.

**It was hard to believe there was a ceiling there at all, and that the Great Hall didn't simply open on to the heavens.**

**Harry quickly looked down again as Professor McGonagall silently placed a four-legged stool in front of the first years. On top of the stool she put a pointed wizard's hat. This hat was patched and frayed and extremely dirty. Aunt Petunia wouldn't have let it in the house.**

_**Maybe they had to try and get a rabbit out of it** _ **, Harry thought wildly, that seemed the sort of thing**

"Why in the world would we pull a rabbit out of a hat?" Oliver and Ron asked.

"It's what Muggle magicians do," Hermione said slowly.

"Oh"

— **noticing that everyone in the hall was now staring at the hat, he stared at it, too. For a few seconds, there was complete silence. Then the hat twitched. A rip near the brim opened wide like a mouth — and the hat began to sing:**

" _ **Oh, you may not think I'm pretty,**_

"We don't." The twins chuckled.

_**But don't judge on what you see,** _

_**I'll eat myself if you can find** _

_**A smarter hat than me.** _

_**You can keep your bowlers black,** _

_**Your top hats sleek and tall,** _

_**For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat** _

_**And I can cap them all.** _

_**There's nothing hidden in your head** _

_**The Sorting Hat can't see,** _

_**So try me on and I will tell you** _

_**Where you ought to be.** _

_**You might belong in Gryffindor,** _

_**Where dwell the brave at heart,** _

_**Their daring, nerve, and chivalry** _

_**Set Gryffindors apart;** _

_**You might belong in Hufflepuff,** _

_**Where they are just and loyal,** _

_**Those patient Hufflepuffs are true** _

_**And unafraid of toil;** _

_**Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,** _

_**if you've a ready mind,** _

_**Where those of wit and learning,** _

_**Will always find their kind;** _

_**Or perhaps in Slytherin** _

_**You'll make your real friends,** _

_**Those cunning folk use any means** _

_**To achieve their ends.** _

_**So put me on! Don't be afraid!** _

_**And don't get in a flap!** _

_**You're in safe hands (though I have none)** _

_**For I'm a Thinking Cap!"** _

**The whole hall burst into applause as the hat finished its song. It bowed to each of the four tables and then became quite still again.**

The room also burst into applause.

"I love the song," Katie grinned.

" **So we've just got to try on the hat!" Ron whispered to Harry. "I'll kill Fred, he was going on about wrestling a troll."**

Ron stared at the book in Harry's hands. Hermione and Harry were also wearing identical looks of shock.

"Mate," Harry said. "Don't joke like that. It could come true."

"Don't we know it," Ron said with a weak chuckle.

**Harry smiled weakly. Yes, trying on the hat was a lot better than having to do a spell, but he did wish they could have tried it on without everyone watching.**

**The hat seemed to be asking rather a lot; Harry didn't feel brave or quick-witted or any of it at the moment.**

**If only the hat had mentioned a house for people who felt a bit queasy, that would have been the one for him.**

"All the first years would be in that house," Cedric chuckled.

"Except for those who know which house they want," Cho said glaring at Cedric.

**Professor McGonagall now stepped forward holding a long roll of parchment.**

" **When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted," she said. "Abbott, Hannah!"**

**A pink-faced girl with blonde pigtails stumbled out of line, put on the hat, which fell right down over her eyes, and sat down. A moments pause —**

" **HUFFLEPUFF!" shouted the hat.**

**The table on the right cheered and clapped as Hannah went to sit down at the Hufflepuff table. Harry saw the ghost of the Fat Friar waving merrily at her.**

" **Bones, Susan!"**

" **HUFFLEPUFF!" shouted the hat again, and Susan scuttled off to sit next to Hannah.**

" **Boot, Terry!"**

" **RAVENCLAW!"**

**The table second from the left clapped this time; several Ravenclaws stood up to shake hands with Terry as he joined them.**

" **Brocklehurst, Mandy" went to Ravenclaw too, but "Brown, Lavender"** **became the first new Gryffindor,**

"Yay Lavender!" the twins cheered.

"Why did her parents give her two colors as names?" Harry whispered to Ron.

"Search me, mate."

**and the table on the far left exploded with cheers; Harry could see Ron's twin brothers catcalling.**

" **Bulstrode, Millicent" then became a Slytherin. Perhaps it was Harry's imagination, after all he'd heard about Slytherin, but he thought they looked like an unpleasant lot.**

"They are," Angelina said. "I've had to partner with her brother in Potions. Not fun, not at all."

**He was starting to feel definitely sick now. He remembered being picked for teams during gym at his old school. He had always been last to be chosen, not because he was no good, but because no one wanted Dudley to think they liked him.**

" **Finch-Fletchley, Justin!"**

" **HUFFLEPUFF!"**

**Sometimes, Harry noticed, the hat shouted out the house at once, but at others it took a little while to decide. "Finnigan, Seamus,"**

**the sandy-haired boy next to Harry in the line, sat on the stool for almost a whole minute before the hat declared him a Gryffindor.**

"Go Seamus!" the twins yelled.

"If you don't shut it, I will hex you," Cho hissed.

" **Granger, Hermione!"**

**Hermione almost ran to the stool and jammed the hat eagerly on her head.**

"Nice Hermione," George chuckled.

"I did not!" Hermione yelled over George.

" **GRYFFINDOR!" shouted the hat. Ron groaned.**

"Sorry Hermione," Ron said.

"I've forgiven you." Hermione said, with a smile. "You redeemed yourself later."

**A horrible thought struck Harry, as horrible thoughts always do when you're very nervous. What if he wasn't chosen at all?**

"Dramatic much?" Cho giggled.

"Hey!"

**What if he just sat there with the hat over his eyes for ages, until Professor McGonagall jerked it off his head and said there had obviously been a mistake and he'd better get back on the train?**

**When Neville Longbottom, the boy who kept losing his toad, was called, he fell over on his way to the stool.**

"Of course he did," Fred said shaking his head in amusement.

**The hat took a long time to decide with Neville.**

**When it finally shouted, "GRYFFINDOR," Neville ran off still wearing it, and had to jog back amid gales of laughter to give it to "MacDougal, Morag."**

"Go Neville!" Hermione cheered and clapped her hands.

**Malfoy swaggered forward when his name was called and got his wish at once: the hat had barely touched his head when it screamed, "SLYTHERIN!"**

"Boo!" Ron and Harry hissed.

**Malfoy went to join his friends Crabbe and Goyle, looking pleased with himself.**

**There weren't many people left now. "Moon"…, "Nott"… , "Parkinson"… , then a pair of twin girls, "Patil" and "Patil"… , then "Perks, Sally-Anne"… , and then, at last —**

" **Potter, Harry!"**

**As Harry stepped forward, whispers suddenly broke out like little hissing fires all over the hall.**

" _ **Potter**_ **, did she say?"**

" _ **The**_ **Harry Potter?"**

"I hated that," Harry muttered.

**The last thing Harry saw before the hat dropped over his eyes was the hall full of people craning to get a good look at him. Next second he was looking at the black inside of the hat. He waited.**

" **Hmm," said a small voice in his ear. "Difficult. Very difficult.**

"Umm? What's difficult about it?" Alicia asked. "Gryffindor."

**Plenty of courage, I see. Not a bad mind either. There's talent, A my goodness, yes — and a nice thirst to prove yourself, now that's interesting… So where shall I put you?"**

"Gryffindor," The twins said. They were a little nervous. Harry rolled his eyes at them.

**Harry gripped the edges of the stool and thought,** _**Not Slytherin, not Slytherin** _ **.**

" **Not Slytherin, eh?" said the small voice. "Are you sure? You could be great, you know, it's all here in your head, and Slytherin will help you on the way to greatness, no doubt about that — no?**

"Yes, he's sure!" Oliver almost passed out. "Put him in the right house!"

"Oliver!" Harry yelled. "You do remember this _already happened_!"

**Well, if you're sure — better be GRYFFINDOR!"**

"Phew, had us worried there," Oliver said.

"Would it really been that bad?" Harry asked.

"Oliver's just happy that he didn't almost lose his star seeker," Katie explained. "But yeah, it would have been."

**Harry heard the hat shout the last word to the whole hall. He took off the hat and walked shakily toward the Gryffindor table. He was so relieved to have been chosen and not put in Slytherin, he hardly noticed that he was getting the loudest cheer yet. Percy the Prefect got up and shook his hand vigorously, while the Weasley twins yelled, "We got Potter! We got Potter!"**

"We are great, right Forge?"

"You bet Gred."

**Harry sat down opposite the ghost in the ruff he'd seen earlier. The ghost patted his arm, giving Harry the sudden, horrible feeling he'd just plunged it into a bucket of ice-cold water.**

"I hate that," Katie shuddered.

"Me too," Cedric frowned.

**He could see the High Table properly now. At the end nearest him sat Hagrid, who caught his eye and gave him the thumbs up. Harry grinned back. And there, in the center of the High Table, in a large gold chair, sat Albus Dumbledore. Harry recognized him at once from the card he'd gotten out of the Chocolate Frog on the train. Dumbledore's silver hair was the only thing in the whole hall that shone as brightly as the ghosts.**

"You have odd thoughts, Harry," Hermione commented.

**Harry spotted Professor Quirrell, too, the nervous young man from the Leaky Cauldron. He was looking very peculiar in a large purple turban.**

**And now there were only three people left to be sorted. "Thomas, Dean," a Black boy even taller than Ron, joined Harry at the Gryffindor table.**

"Go Dean!" All the Gryffindors cheered.

" **Turpin, Lisa," became a Ravenclaw and then it was Ron's turn. He was pale green by now.**

**Harry crossed his fingers under the table and a second later the hat had shouted, "GRYFFINDOR!"**

"Go Ron!" the twins yelled.

"They do know that they're talking to a book?" Harry asked Ron.

"Don't question it, mate."

**Harry clapped loudly with the rest as Ron collapsed into the chair next to him.**

" **Well done, Ron, excellent," said Percy Weasley pompously across Harry**

"Prat," the twins said with a roll of their eyes.

**as "Zabini, Blaise," was made a Slytherin. Professor McGonagall rolled up her scroll and took the Sorting Hat away.**

"Boo!" the twins hissed at the mention of Slytherin.

**Harry looked down at his empty gold plate. He had only just realized how hungry he was. The pumpkin pasties seemed ages ago.**

**Albus Dumbledore had gotten to his feet. He was beaming at the students, his arms opened wide, as if nothing could have pleased him more than to see them all there.**

"Well, it's not Hogwarts without Dumbledore," Cedric said with a nod. "So, we're all pleased to see him."

"Except for Malfoy," Harry whispered to Ron.

" **Welcome," he said. "Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!**

"Those are a few words," Harry said with a chuckle.

" **Thank you!"**

**He sat back down. Everybody clapped and cheered. Harry didn't know whether to laugh or not.**

" **Is he — a bit mad?" he asked Percy uncertainly.**

"Yes, he is." Oliver nodded. "But that's why he's awesome."

" **Mad?" said Percy airily. "He's a genius! Best wizard in the world! But he is a bit mad, yes. Potatoes, Harry?"**

**Harry's mouth fell open.**

**The dishes in front of him were now piled with food. He had never seen so many things he liked to eat on one table: roast beef, roast chicken, pork chops and lamb chops, sausages, bacon and steak, boiled potatoes, roast potatoes, fries, Yorkshire pudding, peas, carrots, gravy, ketchup, and, for some strange reason, peppermint humbugs.**

"Dumbledore likes them," Angelina shrugged. "Told me one time when I was in his office after hexing Fred."

"Don't ask," Fred said after seeing Harry open his mouth.

**The Dursleys had never exactly starved Harry, but he'd never been allowed to eat as much as he liked. Dudley had always taken anything that Harry really wanted, even if It made him sick. Harry piled his plate with a bit of everything except the peppermints and began to eat. It was all delicious.**

"Harry?" Ron asked.

"Yeah?"

"What would be your definition of starvation then?"

"This past summer," Harry whispered but Ron heard him.

" **That does look good," said the ghost in the ruff sadly, watching Harry cut up his steak.**

" **Can't you —?"**

" **I haven't eaten for nearly five hundred years," said the ghost. "I don't need to, of course, but one does miss it.**

**I don't think I've introduced myself? Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington at your service. Resident ghost of Gryffindor Tower."**

"Also goes by Nick!" the twins cheered.

" **I know who you are!" said Ron suddenly. "My brothers told me about you — you're Nearly Headless Nick!"**

All the girls, but Cho, groaned. They thought it was cool when Nick showed them his attempted beheading, but thought it got repetitive.

" **I would** _ **prefer**_ **you to call me Sir Nicholas de Mimsy —" the ghost began stiffly, but sandy-haired Seamus Finnigan interrupted.**

" _ **Nearly**_ **Headless? How can you be** _ **nearly**_ **headless?"**

"I hate this part," Hermione moaned. "Remind me to hex Seamus."

**Sir Nicholas looked extremely miffed, as if their little chat wasn't going at all the way he wanted.**

" **Like** _ **this**_ **," he said irritably. He seized his left ear and pulled. His whole head swung off his neck and fell onto his shoulder as if it was on a hinge. Someone had obviously tried to behead him, but not done it properly. Looking pleased at the stunned looks on their faces,**

"That's disgusting," Cho wrinkled her nose.

"And that's why she's not a Gryffindor," Katie whispered to Alicia.

**Nearly Headless Nick flipped his head back onto his neck, coughed, and said, "So — new Gryffindors! I hope you're going to help us win the house championship this year? Gryffindors have never gone so long without winning. Slytherins have got the cup six years in a row! The Bloody Baron's becoming almost unbearable — he's the Slytherin ghost."**

**Harry looked over at the Slytherin table and saw a horrible ghost sitting there, with blank staring eyes, a gaunt face, and robes stained with silver blood.**

**He was right next to Malfoy who, Harry was pleased to see, didn't look too pleased with the seating arrangements.**

" **How did he get covered in blood?" asked Seamus with great interest.**

" **I've never asked," said Nearly Headless Nick delicately.**

"I want to know now," Harry whispered to Ron.

"We ask after we get out of here?"

"You bet."

**When everyone had eaten as much as they could, the remains of the food faded from the plates, leaving them sparkling clean as before. A moment later the desserts appeared. Blocks of ice cream in every flavor you could think of, apple pies, treacle tarts, chocolate éclairs and jam doughnuts, trifle, strawberries, Jell-O, rice pudding…**

**As Harry helped himself to a treacle tart, the talk turned to their families.**

" **I'm half-and-half," said Seamus. "Me dad's a Muggle. Mom didn't tell him she was a witch 'til after they were married. Bit of a nasty shock for him."**

"That's not good," Cedric frowned. "Seamus is lucky his dad didn't run off."

**The others laughed.**

" **What about you, Neville?" said Ron.**

" **Well, my gran brought me up and she's a witch," said Neville, "but the family thought I was all-Muggle for ages.**

**My Great Uncle Algie kept trying to catch me off my guard and force some magic out of me — he pushed me off the end of Blackpool pier once, I nearly drowned — but nothing happened until I was eight. Great Uncle Algie came round for dinner, and he was hanging me out of an upstairs window by the ankles when my Great Auntie Enid offered him a meringue and he accidentally let go. But I bounced — all the way down the garden and into the road. They were all really pleased, Gran was crying, she was so happy.**

"What?" Katie and Hermione yelled. "That's abuse!"

"Poor Neville," Alicia frowned.

Harry scowled. He should have realized that when he heard it; it was no better than how his relatives treated him.

**And you should have seen their faces when I got in here — they thought I might not be magic enough to come, you see. Great Uncle Algie was so pleased he bought me my toad."**

**On Harry's other side, Percy Weasley and Hermione were talking about lessons**

**("I** _**do** _ **hope they start right away, there's so much to learn, I'm particularly interested in Transfiguration,**

"Of course you were," Ron chuckled. "Was there anything you _weren't_ interested in?"

"Rule breaking, or at least, back then." Hermione said with a smile.

**you know, turning something into something else, of course, it's supposed to be very difficult —"; "You'll be starting small, just matches into needles and that sort of thing — ").**

**Harry, who was starting to feel warm and sleepy, looked up at the High Table again. Hagrid was drinking deeply from his goblet. Professor McGonagall was talking to Professor Dumbledore. Professor Quirrell, in his absurd turban, was talking to a teacher with greasy black hair, a hooked nose, and sallow skin.**

"Merlin, why did he have to teach here?" Angelina moaned. "There can't be a worse teacher alive."

"What about Lockheart?" Cedric asked. All the girls turned to glare at him.

**It happened very suddenly. The hook-nosed teacher looked past Quirrell's turban straight into Harry's eyes — and a sharp, hot pain shot across the scar on Harry's forehead.**

"What's that about?" Katie asked.

"All will be revealed in time," Harry said with a smirk.

"Meanie," Alicia pouted.

" **Ouch!" Harry clapped a hand to his head.**

" **What is it?" asked Percy.**

" **N-nothing."**

**The pain had gone as quickly as it had come. Harder to shake off was the feeling Harry had gotten from the teacher's look — a feeling that he didn't like Harry at all.**

"Gee, ya think?" Ron said, rolling his eyes.

" **Who's that teacher talking to Professor Quirrell?" he asked Percy.**

" **Oh, you know Quirrell already, do you? No wonder he's looking so nervous, that's Professor Snape.**

There was around of boo's from all over the room. Yes, even from Cho and Cedric.

**He teaches Potions, but he doesn't want to — everyone knows he's after Quirrell's job. Knows an awful lot about the Dark Arts, Snape."**

**Harry watched Snape for a while, but Snape didn't look at him again.**

**At last, the desserts too disappeared, and Professor Dumbledore got to his feet again. The hall fell silent.**

" **Ahem — just a few more words now that we are all fed and watered.**

"What? Are we animals?" Cho giggled.

**I have a few start-of-term notices to give you.**

" **First years should note that the forest on the grounds is forbidden to all pupils. And a few of our older students would do well to remember that as well."**

**Dumbledore's twinkling eyes flashed in the direction of the Weasley twins.**

"Why does he always look at us?" Fred asked. No one answered; they were too busy laughing.

" **I have also been asked by Mr. Filch, the caretaker, to remind you all that no magic should be used between classes in the corridors.**

" **Quidditch trials will be held in the second week of the term. Anyone interested in playing for their house teams should contact Madam Hooch.**

" **And finally, I must tell you that this year, the third-floor corridor on the right-hand side is out of bounds to everyone who does not wish to die a very painful death."**

"He so should not have said that in front of you," Hermione whispered to Harry. He just gave her an innocent smile.

**Harry laughed, but he was one of the few who did.**

" **He's not serious?"**

"I think he was," Harry whispered to Ron with a smirk.

**he muttered to Percy.**

" **Must be," said Percy, frowning at Dumbledore. "It's odd, because he usually gives us a reason why we're not allowed to go somewhere — the forest's full of dangerous beasts, everyone knows that. I do think he might have told us prefects, at least."**

"Prat," the twins and Ron rolled their eyes.

" **And now, before we go to bed, let us sing the school song!" cried Dumbledore. Harry noticed that the other teachers' smiles had become rather fixed.**

Just like Oliver's and Cedric's.

**Dumbledore gave his wand a little flick, as if he was trying to get a fly off the end, and a long golden ribbon flew out of it, which rose high above the tables and twisted itself, snakelike, into words.**

" **Everyone pick their favorite tune," said Dumbledore, "and off we go!"**

"Whoo!" The twins cheered. Everyone else groaned.

**And the school bellowed:**

" _ **Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggy Warty Hogwarts,**_

_**Teach us something please,** _

_**Whether we be old and bald** _

_**Or young with scabby knees,** _

_**Our heads could do with filling** _

_**With some interesting stuff,** _

_**For now they're bare and full of air,** _

_**Dead flies and bits of fluff,** _

_**So teach us things worth knowing,** _

_**Bring back what we've forgot,** _

_**just do your best, we'll do the rest,** _

_**And learn until our brains all rot."** _

**Everybody finished the song at different times. At last, only the Weasley twins were left singing along to a very slow funeral march. Dumbledore conducted their last few lines with his wand and when they had finished, he was one of those who clapped loudest.**

" **Ah, music," he said, wiping his eyes. "A magic beyond all we do here! And now, bedtime. Off you trot!"**

"I mean, what are we horses?" Cedric asked.

**The Gryffindor first years followed Percy through the chattering crowds, out of the Great Hall, and up the marble staircase. Harry's legs were like lead again, but only because he was so tired and full of food. He was too sleepy even to be surprised that the people in the portraits along the corridors whispered and pointed as they passed, or that twice Percy led them through doorways hidden behind sliding panels and hanging tapestries.**

**They climbed more staircases, yawning and dragging their feet, and Harry was just wondering how much farther they had to go when they came to a sudden halt.**

**A bundle of walking sticks was floating in midair ahead of them, and as Percy took a step toward them they started throwing themselves at him.**

"Peeves!" The twins smiled at the mention of their chaos causing friend.

" **Peeves," Percy whispered to the first years. "A poltergeist." He raised his voice, "Peeves — show yourself."**

**A loud, rude sound, like the air being let out of a balloon, answered.**

" **Do you want me to go to the Bloody Baron?"**

"Prat," the twins huffed. They liked Peeves.

**There was a pop, and a little man with wicked, dark eyes and a wide mouth appeared, floating cross-legged in the air, clutching the walking sticks.**

" **Oooooooh!" he said, with an evil cackle. "Ickle Firsties! What fun!"**

**He swooped suddenly at them. They all ducked.**

" **Go away, Peeves, or the Baron'll hear about this, I mean it!" barked Percy.**

**Peeves stuck out his tongue and vanished, dropping the walking sticks on Neville's head. They heard him zooming away, rattling coats of armor as he passed.**

"Oh, I hope he was okay," Alicia said.

"He was," Harry assured her.

" **You want to watch out for Peeves," said Percy, as they set off again. "The Bloody Baron's the only one who can control him, he won't even listen to us prefects. Here we are."**

**At the very end of the corridor hung a portrait of a very fat woman in a pink silk dress.**

" **Password?" she said.**

" **Caput Draconis," said Percy, and the portrait swung forward to reveal a round hole in the wall. They all scrambled through it — Neville needed a leg up — and found themselves in the Gryffindor common room, a cozy, round room full of squashy armchairs.**

"Yay!" All the Gryffindors cheered for their common room.

"Ravenclaw is better," Cho sniffed.

**Percy directed the girls through one door to their dormitory and the boys through another. At the top of a spiral staircase — they were obviously in one of the towers — they found their beds at last: five four-posters hung with deep red, velvet curtains. Their trunks had already been brought up. Too tired to talk much, they pulled on their pajamas and fell into bed.**

" **Great food, isn't it?" Ron muttered to Harry through the hangings. "Get** _ **off**_ **, Scabbers! He's chewing my sheets."**

"Scabbers," Ron chuckled and shook his head.

**Harry was going to ask Ron if he'd had any of the treacle tart, but he fell asleep almost at once.**

**Perhaps Harry had eaten a bit too much, because he had a very strange dream. He was wearing Professor Quirrell's turban, which kept talking to him, telling him he must transfer to Slytherin at once, because it was his destiny. Harry told the turban he didn't want to be in Slytherin; it got heavier and heavier; he tried to pull it off but it tightened painfully — and there was Malfoy, laughing at him as he struggled with it — then Malfoy turned into the hook-nosed teacher, Snape, whose laugh became high and cold — there was a burst of green light and Harry woke, sweating and shaking.**

"Wow that was creepy."

**He rolled over and fell asleep again, and when he woke next day, he didn't remember the dream at all.**

"Alright," Harry grinned. "Ron's next."

"Kay," Ron said. When he opened the book, he groaned. "Thanks mate. You gave me the greasy git's chapter."

" _Snape_ has a chapter?" everyone asked. At Ron's nod, they groaned. "Read this one very quickly," George told his brother.


	8. Chapter 8

" **The Potions Master,"** Ron read.

"Really? Do we have to?" Fred whined.

" **There, look."**

" **Where?"**

" **Next to the tall kid with the red hair."**

"Nice, all I get is that." Ron muttered to a smirking Harry.

" **Wearing the glasses?"**

" **Did you see his face?"**

" **Did you see his scar?"**

"That would stink," Angelina frowned.

**Whispers followed Harry from the moment he left his dormitory the next day. People lining up outside classrooms stood on tiptoe to get a look at him, or doubled back to pass him in the corridors again, staring.**

"I hate that," Harry muttered.

**Harry wished they wouldn't, because he was trying to concentrate on finding his way to classes.**

**There were a hundred and forty-two staircases at Hogwarts:**

"You counted?" Ron asked.

"I asked Hermione." Harry told him.

**wide, sweeping ones; narrow, rickety ones; some that led somewhere different on a Friday; some with a vanishing step halfway up that you had to remember to jump. Then there were doors that wouldn't open unless you asked politely, or tickled them in exactly the right place, and doors that weren't really doors at all, but solid walls just pretending. It was also very hard to remember where anything was, because it all seemed to move around a lot.**

"Someone should really make a map, right Gred?"

"Right Forge."

**The people in the portraits kept going to visit each other, and Harry was sure the coats of armor could walk.**

"Harry!" Cho groaned. "It's a school of magic."

"I was eleven!"

**The ghosts didn't help, either. It was always a nasty shock when one of them glided suddenly through a door you were trying to open. Nearly Headless Nick was always happy to point new Gryffindors in the right direction, but Peeves the Poltergeist was worth two locked doors and a trick staircase if you met him when you were late for class.**

**He would drop wastepaper baskets on your head, pull rugs from under your feet, pelt you with bits of chalk, or sneak up behind you, invisible, grab your nose, and screech, "GOT YOUR CONK!"**

"Wasn't it Bill who taught him that?" Fred asked.

"If so, I hate your brother," Alicia said rubbing her nose.

**Even worse than Peeves, if that was possible, was the caretaker, Argus Filch. Harry and Ron managed to get on the wrong side of him on their very first morning.**

"We're not worthy!" Fred and George cried and started bowing to Harry and Ron.

"It took them three weeks to get on his bad side," Ron told everyone as they kicked the twins off the ground.

**Filch found them trying to force their way through a door that unluckily turned out to be the entrance to the out-of-bounds corridor on the third floor.**

Harry and Ron winced, they were lucky they didn't make it through then.

**He wouldn't believe they were lost, was sure they were trying to break into it on purpose, and was threatening to lock them in the dungeons when they were rescued by Professor Quirrell, who was passing.**

"Why was he in that section of the school?" Harry whispered to Ron.

"Do I look like the type of person who knows what evil gits are thinking?"

**Filch owned a cat called Mrs. Norris, a scrawny, dust-colored creature with bulging, lamp like eyes just like Filch's.**

Everyone shuddered at the description.

**She patrolled the corridors alone. Break a rule in front of her, put just one toe out of line, and she'd whisk off for Filch, who'd appear, wheezing, two seconds later.**

"Evil cat," everyone muttered.

**Filch knew the secret passageways of the school better than anyone (except perhaps the Weasley twins) and could pop up as suddenly as any of the ghosts. The students all hated him, and it was the dearest ambition of many to give Mrs. Norris a good kick.**

**And then, once you had managed to find them, there were the classes themselves. There was a lot more to magic, as Harry quickly found out, than waving your wand and saying a few funny words.**

"Harry!" Hermione giggled.

**They had to study the night skies through their telescopes every Wednesday at midnight and learn the names of different stars and the movements of the planets. Three times a week they went out to the greenhouses behind the castle to study Herbology, with a dumpy little witch called Professor Sprout,**

"She's not dumpy," Cedric frowned.

**where they learned how to take care of all the strange plants and fungi, and found out what they were used for. Easily the most boring class was History of Magic, which was the only one taught by a ghost. Professor Binns had been very old indeed when he had fallen asleep in front of the staff room fire and got up next morning to teach, leaving his body behind him. Binns droned on and on while they scribbled down names and dates, and got Emetic the Evil and Uric the Oddball mixed up.**

**Professor Flitwick, the Charms teacher, was a tiny little wizard who had to stand on a pile of books to see over his desk.**

**At the start of their first class he took the roll call, and when he reached Harry's name he gave an excited squeak and toppled out of sight.**

"Flitwick," Cho shook her head in amusement. She loved her head of house.

**Professor McGonagall was again different. Harry had been quite right to think she wasn't a teacher to cross. Strict and clever, she gave them a talking-to the moment they sat down in her first class.**

" **Transfiguration is some of the most complex and dangerous magic you will learn at Hogwarts," she said. "Anyone messing around in my class will leave and not come back. You have been warned."**

"Speech doesn't change much, does it?" Oliver asked Alicia in amusement.

"Nope, not really."

**Then she changed her desk into a pig and back again. They were all very impressed and couldn't wait to get started, but soon realized they weren't going to be changing the furniture into animals for a long time.**

**After taking a lot of complicated notes, they were each given a match and started trying to turn it into a needle. By the end of the lesson, only Hermione Granger had made any difference to her match; Professor McGonagall showed the class how it had gone all silver and pointy and gave Hermione a rare smile.**

"Whoa," Oliver gasped. "It took me three classes before I could do that."

"She's the smartest witch of her year," Katie said with a roll of her eyes.

**The class everyone had really been looking forward to was Defense Against the Dark Arts, but Quirrell's lessons turned out to be a bit of a joke. His classroom smelled strongly of garlic, which everyone said was to ward off a vampire he'd met in Romania and was afraid would be coming back to get him one of these days. His turban, he told them, had been given to him by an African prince as a thank-you for getting rid of a troublesome zombie, but they weren't sure they believed this story. For one thing, when Seamus Finnigan asked eagerly to hear how Quirrell had fought off the zombie, Quirrell went pink and started talking about the weather; for another, they had noticed that a funny smell hung around the turban, and the Weasley twins insisted that it was stuffed full of garlic as well, so that Quirrell was protected wherever he went.**

"Damn you Quirrell!" Ron shouted.

"Why?" Cho asked. "What's wrong with him?"

"You'll find out," Hermione said in a grim tone.

**Harry was very relieved to find out that he wasn't miles behind everyone else. Lots of people had come from Muggle families and, like him, hadn't had any idea that they were witches and wizards. There was so much to learn that even people like Ron didn't have much of a head start.**

"Ron? A head start?" George chuckled.

"Oi!"

**Friday was an important day for Harry and Ron. They finally managed to find their way down to the Great Hall for breakfast without getting lost once.**

"Oh, well done Ron," Fred snickered.

"It took you two weeks, or was Percy lying?" Ron retorted.

That sobered the twins up quickly.

" **What have we got today?" Harry asked Ron as he poured sugar on his porridge.**

" **Double Potions with the Slytherins," said Ron. "Snape's Head of Slytherin House. They say he always favors them — we'll be able to see if it's true."**

"Do we have to hear about this?" Ron asked.

" **Wish McGonagall favored us," said Harry.**

"Fat chance," Fred huffed.

"No, wait." George said. "We never get detention when there's a match close by."

**Professor McGonagall was head of Gryffindor House, but it hadn't stopped her from giving them a huge pile of homework the day before.**

"Why would it? I mean, Snape gives the Slytherins the same amount as he gives us," Oliver said confused.

**Just then, the mail arrived. Harry had gotten used to this by now, but it had given him a bit of a shock on the first morning, when about a hundred owls had suddenly streamed into the Great Hall during breakfast, circling the tables until they saw their owners, and dropping letters and packages onto their laps.**

"I felt the same way," Hermione said with a small grin.

**Hedwig hadn't brought Harry anything so far. She sometimes flew in to nibble his ear and have a bit of toast before going off to sleep in the owlery with the other school owls.**.

"Hedwig!" Harry beamed at the mention of his owl.

**This morning, however, she fluttered down between the marmalade and the sugar bowl and dropped a note onto Harry's plate.**

**Harry tore it open at once. It said, in a very untidy scrawl:**

_**Dear Harry,** _

_**I know you get Friday afternoons off, so would you like to come and have a cup of tea with me around three?** _

_**I want to hear all about your first week. Send us an answer back with Hedwig.** _

_**Hagrid** _

"Hagrid is a good friend," Katie smiled.

"Just don't eat his cooking," Fred warned.

**Harry borrowed Ron's quill, scribbled** _**Yes, please, see you later** _ **on the back of the note, and sent Hedwig off again.**

**It was lucky that Harry had tea with Hagrid to look forward to, because the Potions lesson turned out to be the worst thing that had happened to him so far.**

"Dramatic much?" Alicia smiled at Harry.

"It was!"

**At the start-of-term banquet, Harry had gotten the idea that Professor Snape disliked him. By the end of the first Potions lesson, he knew he'd been wrong. Snape didn't dislike Harry — he** _**hated** _ **him.** **Potions lessons took place down in one of the dungeons. It was colder here than up in the main castle, and would have been quite creepy enough without the pickled animals floating in glass jars all around the walls.**

"That's not creepy at all." Angelina said in a sarcastic tone.

**Snape, like Flitwick, started the class by taking the roll call, and like Flitwick, he paused at Harry's name.**

" **Ah, Yes," he said softly, "Harry Potter. Our new —** _ **celebrity**_ **."**

"That's not really professional," Alicia sniffed.

**Draco Malfoy and his friends Crabbe and Goyle sniggered behind their hands.**

"Arse!"

**Snape finished calling the names and looked up at the class. His eyes were black like Hagrid's, but they had none of Hagrid's warmth. They were cold and empty and made you think of dark tunnels.**

"Ouch!" Harry rubbed the back of his head and glared at Katie.

"I like Hagrid," was all she said in explanation.

" **You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potion making," he began. He spoke in barely more than a whisper, but they caught every word — like Professor McGonagall, Snape had the gift of keeping a class silent without effort.**

"Stop comparing the git to people we like, Harry!" Oliver told his seeker.

" **As there is little foolish wand-waving here, many of you will hardly believe this is magic. I don't expect you will really understand the beauty of the softly simmering cauldron with its shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses… I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, even stopper death** — **if you aren't as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach."**

"Up onto the dunderhead part, it's not that bad of a speech," Cho said.

**More silence followed this little speech. Harry and Ron exchanged looks with raised eyebrows. Hermione Granger was on the edge of her seat and looked desperate to start proving that she wasn't a dunderhead.**

"Harry!"

" **Potter!" said Snape suddenly. "What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"**

"Draught of Living Death," Fred said with a glare. "That's not a first year potion."

_**Powdered root of what to an infusion of what** _ **? Harry glanced at Ron, who looked as stumped as he was; Hermione's hand had shot into the air.**

" **I don't know, sir," said Harry.**

**Snape's lips curled into a sneer.**

" **Tut, tut — fame clearly isn't everything."**

**He ignored Hermione's hand.**

" **Let's try again. Potter, where would you look if I told you to find me a bezoar?"**

"In a stomach of a goat," George said.

**Hermione stretched her hand as high into the air as it would go without her leaving her seat,**

"You had to notice that?" Hermione hissed to Harry.

"I notice all," Harry said with a smirk.

**but Harry didn't have the faintest idea what a bezoar was. He tried not to look at Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle, who were shaking with laughter.**

" **I don't know, sir."**

" **Thought you wouldn't open a book before coming, eh, Potter?"**

**Harry forced himself to keep looking straight into those cold eyes. He had looked through his books at the Dursleys', but did Snape expect him to remember everything in** _**One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi** _ **?**

"Git!"

**Snape was still ignoring Hermione's quivering hand.**

" **What is the difference, Potter, between monkshood and wolfsbane?"**

"They're the same thing," the twins said together in a bored tone. "They also go by aconite."

At everyone's surprised looks, Fred said "What? We've got to know potions to plan our pranks."

"Well, that's better." Ron said. "Had us worried."

**At this, Hermione stood up, her hand stretching toward the dungeon ceiling.**

"Eager much Hermione," Fred said with a chuckle.

" **I don't know," said Harry quietly. "I think Hermione does, though, why don't you try her?"**

"Cheeky little bugger," Hermione said with a small grin.

**A few people laughed; Harry caught Seamus's eye, and Seamus winked. Snape, however, was not pleased.**

"Of course not," Katie giggled.

"He acts like he has a stick shoved up his—" Ron was cut off by Hermione.

"RONALD!"

"Nice little brother," the twins chuckled.

" **Sit down," he snapped at Hermione. "For your information, Potter, asphodel and wormwood make a sleeping potion so powerful it is known as the Draught of Living Death. A bezoar is a stone taken from the stomach of a goat and it will save you from most poisons. As for monkshood and wolfsbane, they are the same plant, which also goes by the name of aconite. Well? Why aren't you all copying that down?"**

**There was a sudden rummaging for quills and parchment. Over the noise, Snape said, "And a point will be taken from Gryffindor House for your cheek, Potter."**

"Well, that's not so bad," Oliver said to everyone's surprise.

"He has a point," Cedric said. "Snape could have been worse."

**Things didn't improve for the Gryffindors as the Potions lesson continued. Snape put them all into pairs and set them to mixing up a simple potion to cure boils. He swept around in his long black cloak, watching them weigh dried nettles and crush snake fangs, criticizing almost everyone except Malfoy, whom he seemed to like.**

**He was just telling everyone to look at the perfect way Malfoy had stewed his horned slugs when clouds of acid green smoke and a loud hissing filled the dungeon. Neville had somehow managed to melt Seamus's cauldron into a twisted blob, and their potion was seeping across the stone floor, burning holes in people's shoes. Within seconds, the whole class was standing on their stools while Neville, who had been drenched in the potion when the cauldron collapsed, moaned in pain as angry red boils sprang up all over his arms and legs.**

" **Idiot boy!"**

"And _that's_ why Neville doesn't like Potions," Hermione whispered to Ron and Harry.

"Merlin, it think it's why any sane person wouldn't like Potions," Ron told her.

**snarled Snape, clearing the spilled potion away with one wave of his wand. "I suppose you added the porcupine quills before taking the cauldron off the fire?"**

**Neville whimpered as boils started to pop up all over his nose.**

" **Take him up to the hospital wing," Snape spat at Seamus. Then he rounded on Harry and Ron, who had been working next to Neville.**

" **You — Potter — why didn't you tell him not to add the quills?**

"That's not Harry's fault!" Hermione hissed.

**Thought he'd make you look good if he got it wrong, did you? That's another point you've lost for Gryffindor."**

"Unfair!" Katie yelled.

"It was Dean's responsibility. He was Neville's partner." Alicia glared at the book.

**This was so unfair that Harry opened his mouth to argue, but Ron kicked him behind their cauldron.**

"Why?" Cedric asked.

"I didn't want Harry getting a detention," Ron said.

" **Don't push it," he muttered, "I've heard Snape can turn very nasty."**

**As they climbed the steps out of the dungeon an hour later, Harry's mind was racing and his spirits were low. He'd lost two points for Gryffindor in his very first week**

"Pff," Fred said with a grin. "We lost 50 points our first week."

— _ **why**_ **did Snape hate him so much?**

"Because you've got a Lion on your robes instead of a Snake," Cho sniffed at the book.

" **Cheer up," said Ron, "Snape's always taking points off Fred and George. Can I come and meet Hagrid with you?"**

"Smooth Ron." Hermione chuckled.

**At five to three they left the castle and made their way across the grounds. Hagrid lived in a small wooden house on the edge of the forbidden forest. A crossbow and a pair of galoshes were outside the front door.**

**When Harry knocked they heard a frantic scrabbling from inside and several booming barks. Then Hagrid's voice rang out, saying, "** _**Back** _ **, Fang —** _**back** _ **."**

"Fang! Isn't that the puppy Hagrid got from Charlie when Charlie was a second year?" Fred asked.

**Hagrid's big, hairy face appeared in the crack as he pulled the door open.**

" **Hang on," he said. "** _ **Back**_ **, Fang."**

**He let them in, struggling to keep a hold on the collar of an enormous black boarhound.**

**There was only one room inside. Hams and pheasants were hanging from the ceiling, a copper kettle was boiling on the open fire, and in the corner stood a massive bed with a patchwork quilt over it.**

" **Make yerselves at home," said Hagrid, letting go of Fang, who bounded straight at Ron and started licking his ears. Like Hagrid, Fang was clearly not as fierce as he looked.**

"That's Hagrid for you," Angelina said with a smile. "It's the ones with cute names that you've got to watch out for."

" **This is Ron," Harry told Hagrid, who was pouring boiling water into a large teapot and putting rock cakes onto a plate.**

" **Another Weasley, eh?" said Hagrid, glancing at Ron's freckles.**

"Oh, way to make me feel special Hagrid," Ron said with a roll of his eyes. "First the Sorting Hat, now you?"

" **I spent half me life chasin' yer twin brothers away from the forest."**

**The rock cakes were shapeless lumps with raisins that almost broke their teeth, but Harry and Ron pretended to be enjoying them as they told Hagrid all about their first lessons.**

"Didn't we tell you not to have his cooking?" Cho asked.

"We didn't know you back then," Harry retorted.

**Fang rested his head on Harry's knee and drooled all over his robes.**

"Gross!" Katie shivered.

**Harry and Ron were delighted to hear Hagrid call Filch "that old git."**

" **An' as fer that cat, Mrs. Norris, I'd like ter introduce her to Fang sometime. D'yeh know, every time I go up ter the school, she follows me everywhere. Can't get rid of her — Filch puts her up to it."**

**Harry told Hagrid about Snape's lesson. Hagrid, like Ron, told Harry not to worry about it, that Snape liked hardly any of the students.**

" **But he seemed to really** _ **hate**_ **me."**

" **Rubbish!" said Hagrid. "Why should he?"**

"Because he hates all things not Slytherin," Oliver glared.

**Yet Harry couldn't help thinking that Hagrid didn't quite meet his eyes when he said that.**

" **How's yer brother Charlie?" Hagrid asked Ron. "I liked him a lot — great with animals."**

"Nice subject change Hagrid," Cedric said with a chuckle.

**Harry wondered if Hagrid had changed the subject on purpose. While Ron told Hagrid all about Charlie's work with dragons, Harry picked up a piece of paper that was lying on the table under the tea cozy. It was a cutting from the** _**Daily Prophet** _ **:**

_**GRINGOTTS BREAK-IN LATEST** _

_**Investigations continue into the break-in at Gringotts on 31 July, widely believed to be the work of Dark wizards or witches unknown. Gringotts goblins today insisted that nothing had been taken. The vault that was searched had in fact been emptied the same day.** _

" _ **But we're not telling you what was in there, so keep your noses out if you know what's good for you," said a Gringotts spokesgoblin this afternoon.**_

**Harry remembered Ron telling him on the train that someone had tried to rob Gringotts, but Ron hadn't mentioned the date.**

" **Hagrid!" said Harry, "that Gringotts break-in happened on my birthday! It might've been happening while we were there!"**

**There was no doubt about it; Hagrid definitely didn't meet Harry's eyes this time. He grunted and offered him another rock cake. Harry read the story again.** _**The vault that was searched had in fact been emptied earlier that same day.** _ **Hagrid had emptied vault seven hundred and thirteen, if you could call it emptying, taking out that grubby little package. Had that been what the thieves were looking for?**

"You know, I think it might have been," Harry whispered to Ron.

**As Harry and Ron walked back to the castle for dinner, their pockets weighed down with rock cakes they'd been too polite to refuse, Harry thought that none of the lessons he'd had so far had given him as much to think about as tea with Hagrid. Had Hagrid collected that package just in time? Where was it now? And did Hagrid know something about Snape that he didn't want to tell Harry?**

"And we're done," Ron cheered with everyone else. "Hermione, you're next."

"Alright." Hermione took the book from Ron. "The next chapter is called The Midnight Duel."


	9. Chapter 9

" **The Midnight Duel,"** Hermione read.

Harry smirked while the twins looked on in amusement. They hadn't heard about a duel at Hogwarts in Ron's first year.

**Harry had never believed he would meet a boy he hated more than Dudley, but that was before he met Draco Malfoy. Still, first-year Gryffindors only had Potions with the Slytherins, so they didn't have to put up with Malfoy much.**

**Or at least, they didn't until they spotted a notice pinned up in the Gryffindor common room that made them all groan. Flying lessons would be starting on Thursday — and Gryffindor and Slytherin would be learning together.**

" **Typical," said Harry darkly. "Just what I always wanted. To make a fool of myself on a broomstick in front of Malfoy."**

"You won't make a fool of yourself," Oliver smiled. "It's in your blood after all."

**He had been looking forward to learning to fly more than anything else.**

" **You don't know that you'll make a fool of yourself," said Ron reasonably. "Anyway, I know Malfoy's always going on about how good he is at Quidditch, but I bet that's all talk."**

"We'll never know," Oliver chuckled. "It's not like he'll get on his Quidditch team any time soon."

**Malfoy certainly did talk about flying a lot. He complained loudly about first years never getting on the house Quidditch teams**

"Oh yeah. Forgot about that," Harry chuckled as he whispered to Ron.

**and told long, boastful stories that always seemed to end with him narrowly escaping Muggles in helicopters.**

"He knows what a helicopter is?" Hermione asked in surprise.

**He wasn't the only one, though: the way Seamus Finnigan told it, he'd spent most of his childhood zooming around the countryside on his broomstick. Even Ron would tell anyone who'd listen about the time he'd almost hit a hang glider on Charlie's old broom. Everyone from wizarding families talked about Quidditch constantly.**

"Quidditch isn't everything," Hermione said and was met with glares from everyone else in the room—except for Cho and Cedric.

**Ron had already had a big argument with Dean Thomas, who shared their dormitory, about soccer. Ron couldn't see what was exciting about a game with only one ball where no one was allowed to fly.**

**Harry had caught Ron prodding Dean's poster of West Ham soccer team, trying to make the players move.**

"Nice one Ron," Fred chuckled.

**Neville had never been on a broomstick in his life, because his grandmother had never let him near one. Privately, Harry felt she'd had good reason, because Neville managed to have an extraordinary number of accidents even with both feet on the ground.**

"Harry, that's not nice," Hermione frowned at her bespectacled friend.

"But so true," Ron muttered.

**Hermione Granger was almost as nervous about flying as Neville was.**

"I hate flying," Hermione muttered. "At least on a broom."

**This was something you couldn't learn by heart out of a book — not that she hadn't tried. At breakfast on Thursday she bored them all stupid with flying tips she'd gotten out of a library book called** _**Quidditch Through the Ages** _ **.**

"The best book in the world!" Oliver, Ron and the twins yelled.

"You read a book?" Hermione and Angelina asked in shock.

**Neville was hanging on to her every word, desperate for anything that might help him hang on to his broomstick later, but everybody else was very pleased when Hermione's lecture was interrupted by the arrival of the mail.**

"Thank Merlin," Ron muttered to Harry.

**Harry hadn't had a single letter since Hagrid's note, something that Malfoy had been quick to notice, of course. Malfoy's eagle owl was always bringing him packages of sweets from home, which he opened gloatingly at the Slytherin table.**

"Of course he did," the twins glared at the book and mentally began to plan pranks on the blond snake.

**A barn owl brought Neville a small package from his grandmother. He opened it excitedly and showed them a glass ball the size of a large marble, which seemed to be full of white smoke.**

" **It's a Remembrall!" he explained. "Gran knows I forget things — this tells you if there's something you've forgotten to do. Look, you hold it tight like this and if it turns red — oh…" His face fell, because the Remembrall had suddenly glowed scarlet, "… you've forgotten something…"**

"What's the point?" Oliver asked. "I mean, it doesn't tell you what you've forgotten."

**Neville was trying to remember what he'd forgotten when Draco Malfoy, who was passing the Gryffindor table, snatched the Remembrall out of his hand.**

"GIT!" Fred yelled.

"FRED!" Hermione screamed. "Not in my ear!"

**Harry and Ron jumped to their feet. They were half hoping for a reason to fight Malfoy, but Professor McGonagall, who could spot trouble quicker than any teacher in the school, was there in a flash.**

"Don't fight," Alicia told them.

"It's Malfoy!" Ron and Harry said as if it explained all. Fred and George nodded with them.

" **What's going on?"**

" **Malfoy's got my Remembrall, Professor."**

**Scowling, Malfoy quickly dropped the Remembrall back on the table.**

" **Just looking," he said, and he sloped away with Crabbe and Goyle behind him.**

**At three-thirty that afternoon, Harry, Ron, and the other Gryffindors hurried down the front steps onto the grounds for their first flying lesson. It was a clear, breezy day, and the grass rippled under their feet as they marched down the sloping lawns toward a smooth, flat lawn on the opposite side of the grounds to the forbidden forest, whose trees were swaying darkly in the distance.**

**The Slytherins were already there, and so were twenty broomsticks lying in neat lines on the ground. Harry had heard Fred and George Weasley complain about the school brooms, saying that some of them started to vibrate if you flew too high, or always flew slightly to the left.**

"FRED WEASLEY!" Angelina shouted. "Don't scare the first years!"

"George did it too!" 

"Oi!" 

**Their teacher, Madam Hooch, arrived. She had short, gray hair, and yellow eyes like a hawk.**

" **Well, what are you all waiting for?" she barked. "Everyone stand by a broomstick. Come on, hurry up."**

**Harry glanced down at his broom. It was old and some of the twigs stuck out at odd angles.**

"I hate the school brooms," all the Quidditch players muttered.

" **Stick out your right hand over your broom," called Madam Hooch at the front, "and say 'Up!'"**

" **UP" everyone shouted.**

**Harry's broom jumped into his hand at once, but it was one of the few that did.**

"Whoa, that means you're gonna be good," Oliver said with a grin.

**Hermione Granger's had simply rolled over on the ground, and Neville's hadn't moved at all. Perhaps brooms, like horses, could tell when you were afraid, thought Harry; there was a quaver in Neville's voice that said only too clearly that he wanted to keep his feet on the ground.**

"I felt that way too," Hermione said. "Still do, as a matter of fact."

**Madam Hooch then showed them how to mount their brooms without sliding off the end, and walked up and down the rows correcting their grips. Harry and Ron were delighted when she told Malfoy he'd been doing it wrong for years.**

"Yay!" the twins cheered.

" **Now, when I blow my whistle, you kick off from the ground, hard," said Madam Hooch. "Keep your brooms steady, rise a few feet, and then come straight back down by leaning forward slightly. On my whistle — three — two —"**

**But Neville, nervous and jumpy and frightened of being left on the ground, pushed off hard before the whistle had touched Madam Hooch's lips.**

"Poor Neville," Katie said with a frown.

" **Come back, boy!" she shouted, but Neville was rising straight up like a cork shot out of a bottle — twelve feet — twenty feet. Harry saw his scared white face look down at the ground falling away, saw him gasp, slip sideways off the broom and —**

**WHAM — a thud and a nasty crack and Neville lay facedown on the grass in a heap.**

"Was he alright?" Cho asked.

"Broken wrist," Hermione told her.

"Good," Alicia said firmly. "At least he wasn't seriously hurt. Madam Pomphry can heal that in a heartbeat."

**His broomstick was still rising higher and higher, and started to drift lazily toward the forbidden forest and out of sight.**

**Madam Hooch was bending over Neville, her face as white as his.**

" **Broken wrist," Harry heard her mutter. "Come on, boy — it's all right, up you get."**

**She turned to the rest of the class.**

" **None of you is to move while I take this boy to the hospital wing! You leave those brooms where they are or you'll be out of Hogwarts before you can say 'Quidditch.' Come on, dear."**

**Neville, his face tear-streaked, clutching his wrist, hobbled off with Madam Hooch, who had her arm around him.**

**No sooner were they out of earshot than Malfoy burst into laughter.**

" **Did you see his face, the great lump?"**

"Git!"

**The other Slytherins joined in.**

" **Shut up, Malfoy," snapped Parvati Patil.**

" **Ooh, sticking up for Longbottom?" said Pansy Parkinson, a hard-faced Slytherin girl. "Never thought** _ **you'd**_ **like fat little crybabies, Parvati."**

"Bitch," Cedric muttered under his breath. Luckily he wasn't heard due to the outcry from the Gryffindors.

"Merlin, these snakes are just lining up to be pranked." Fred said with a fake grin. He was pissed that someone would be so cruel in their first year.

" **Look!" said Malfoy, darting forward and snatching something out of the grass. "It's that stupid thing Longbottom's gran sent him."**

**The Remembrall glittered in the sun as he held it up.**

" **Give that here, Malfoy," said Harry quietly. Everyone stopped talking to watch.**

**Malfoy smiled nastily.**

"That's never good," Alicia glared at the book.

" **I think I'll leave it somewhere for Longbottom to find — how about — up a tree?"**

" **Give it** _ **here**_ **!" Harry yelled, but Malfoy had leapt onto his broomstick and taken off. He hadn't been lying, he** _ **could**_ **fly well.**

**Hovering level with the topmost branches of an oak he called, "Come and get it, Potter!"**

**Harry grabbed his broom.**

" _ **No!"**_ **shouted Hermione Granger. "Madam Hooch told us not to move — you'll get us all into trouble."**

"Listen to Hermione," Katie said. She hadn't heard the story of how Harry got on the team.

"Are you crazy?" Fred asked. "Get that Remembrall, Harry."

**Harry ignored her. Blood was pounding in his ears. He mounted the broom and kicked hard against the ground and up, up he soared; air rushed through his hair, and his robes whipped out behind him — and in a rush of fierce joy he realized he'd found something he could do without being taught — this was easy, this was** _**wonderful** _ **.**

"It is," everyone but Hermione sighed.

**He pulled his broomstick up a little to take it even higher, and heard screams and gasps of girls back on the ground and an admiring whoop from Ron.**

**He turned his broomstick sharply to face Malfoy in midair. Malfoy looked stunned.**

"Good, keep him surprised." Fred cheered.

" **Give it here," Harry called, "or I'll knock you off that broom!"**

" **Oh, yeah?" said Malfoy, trying to sneer, but looking worried.**

**Harry knew, somehow, what to do. He leaned forward and grasped the broom tightly in both hands, and it shot toward Malfoy like a javelin. Malfoy only just got out of the way in time; Harry made a sharp about-face and held the broom steady. A few people below were clapping.**

"You're a natural," Oliver gasped.

" **No Crabbe and Goyle up here to save your neck, Malfoy," Harry called.**

**The same thought seemed to have struck Malfoy.**

" **Catch it if you can, then!" he shouted, and he threw the glass ball high into the air and streaked back toward the ground.**

**Harry saw, as though in slow motion, the ball rise up in the air and then start to fall. He leaned forward and pointed his broom handle down — next second he was gathering speed in a steep dive, racing the ball — wind whistled in his ears, mingled with the screams of people watching — he stretched out his hand — a foot from the ground he caught it, just in time to pull his broom straight, and he toppled gently onto the grass with the Remembrall clutched safely in his fist.**

"That was—"

"—amazing. And on a—"

"—school broom no less."

" **HARRY POTTER!"**

**His heart sank faster than he'd just dived. Professor McGonagall was running toward them.**

"No!" Oliver groaned while Harry looked at him in amusement. Oliver hadn't heard the story of _how_ McGonagall found him a seeker, apparently.

**He got to his feet, trembling.**

" _ **Never**_ — **in all my time at Hogwarts —"**

**Professor McGonagall was almost speechless with shock, and her glasses flashed furiously, "— how** _**dare** _ **you — might have broken your neck —"**

"Yes, you could have." Katie said with a frown.

" **It wasn't his fault, Professor —"**

" **Be quiet, Miss Patil —"**

" **But Malfoy —"**

" **That's** _ **enough**_ **, Mr. Weasley. Potter, follow me, now."**

**Harry caught sight of Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle's triumphant faces as he left, walking numbly in Professor McGonagall's wake as she strode toward the castle. He was going to be expelled, he just knew it.**

"You'll just get detention," Cedric told him.

"Or get on the Quidditch team," Harry whispered to Ron.

**He wanted to say something to defend himself, but there seemed to be something wrong with his voice. Professor McGonagall was sweeping along without even looking at him; he had to jog to keep up. Now he'd done it. He hadn't even lasted two weeks. He'd be packing his bags in ten minutes. What would the Dursleys say when he turned up on the doorstep?**

**Up the front steps, up the marble staircase inside, and still Professor McGonagall didn't say a word to him.**

**She wrenched open doors and marched along corridors with Harry trotting miserably behind her. Maybe she was taking him to Dumbledore. He thought of Hagrid, expelled but allowed to stay on as gamekeeper. Perhaps he could be Hagrid's assistant. His stomach twisted as he imagined it, watching Ron and the others becoming wizards, while he stumped around the grounds carrying Hagrid's bag.**

"What's with all the drama?" Cho giggled.

**Professor McGonagall stopped outside a classroom. She opened the door and poked her head inside.**

" **Excuse me, Professor Flitwick, could I borrow Wood for a moment?"**

**Wood? thought Harry, bewildered; was Wood a cane she was going to use on him?**

"You thought she was going to beat you?" Katie asked, frowning.

"After what I grew up with, what was I supposed to expect?" Harry shrugged.

_I can't kill the Dursleys, I can't kill the Dursleys,_ was what was running through Ron's mind. The twins were chuckling though at the thought of Oliver being a cane.

**But Wood turned out to be a person, a burly fifth-year boy who came out of Flitwick's class looking confused.**

" **Follow me, you two," said Professor McGonagall, and they marched on up the corridor, Wood looking curiously at Harry.**

" **In here."**

**Professor McGonagall pointed them into a classroom that was empty except for Peeves, who was busy writing rude words on the blackboard.**

" **Out, Peeves!" she barked. Peeves threw the chalk into a bin, which clanged loudly, and he swooped out cursing. Professor McGonagall slammed the door behind him and turned to face the two boys.**

" **Potter, this is Oliver Wood. Wood — I've found you a Seeker."**

"YES!" Oliver cheered.

"NO!" Cho and Cedric moaned. They had seen Harry in action and dreaded when they'd have to go up against him. They dreamed of being on their own house team someday.

**Wood's expression changed from puzzlement to delight.**

" **Are you serious, Professor?"**

"You actually asked that?" Angelina asked.

"Well, Harry was a first year and so…"

"Ah."

" **Absolutely," said Professor McGonagall crisply. "The boy's a natural. I've never seen anything like it. Was that your first time on a broomstick, Potter?"**

"I grew up with muggles, of course that was my first time," Harry chuckled.

**Harry nodded silently. He didn't have a clue what was going on, but he didn't seem to be being expelled, and some of the feeling started coming back to his legs.**

" **He caught that thing in his hand after a fifty-foot dive," Professor McGonagall told Wood. "Didn't even scratch himself. Charlie Weasley couldn't have done it."**

"Charlie couldn't have done _that_ ," Ron said. "You're clearly better."

**Wood was now looking as though all his dreams had come true at once.**

" **Ever seen a game of Quidditch, Potter?" he asked excitedly.**

" **Wood's captain of the Gryffindor team," Professor McGonagall explained.**

" **He's just the build for a Seeker, too," said Wood, now walking around Harry and staring at him. "Light —speedy — we'll have to get him a decent broom, Professor — a Nimbus Two Thousand or a Cleansweep Seven, I'd say."**

"Get him the Nimbus," Oliver said grinning wildly.

"He does know this already happened?" Harry asked the group.

"Roll with it mate," Fred said with a grin.

" **I shall speak to Professor Dumbledore and see if we can't bend the first-year rule.**

"McGonagall is awesome!" Oliver grinned.

**Heaven knows, we need a better team than last year.** _**Flattened** _ **in that last match by Slytherin, I couldn't look Severus Snape in the face for weeks…"**

"We pranked a lot of Slytherins after that game," George grinned at the memory.

**Professor McGonagall peered sternly over her glasses at Harry.**

" **I want to hear you're training hard, Potter, or I may change my mind about punishing you."**

**Then she suddenly smiled.**

" **Your father would have been proud," she said. "He was an excellent Quidditch player himself."**

"He was," Oliver said. "He's like a Quidditch god."

"Now, that I find creepy." Harry whispered to Katie.

" **You're** _ **joking**_ **."**

"No, James Potter was the—"

"Different section, Oliver." Katie told him.

**It was dinnertime. Harry had just finished telling Ron what had happened when he'd left the grounds with Professor McGonagall. Ron had a piece of steak and kidney pie halfway to his mouth, but he'd forgotten all about it.**

" _ **Seeker**_ **?" he said. "But first years** _ **never**_ — **you must be the youngest house player in about —"**

" — **a century," said Harry, shoveling pie into his mouth. He felt particularly hungry after the excitement of the afternoon. "Wood told me."**

"What happened to keeping it a secret?" Oliver chuckled.

**Ron was so amazed, so impressed, he just sat and gaped at Harry.**

" **I start training next week," said Harry. "Only don't tell anyone, Wood wants to keep it a secret."**

**Fred and George Weasley now came into the hall, spotted Harry, and hurried over.**

" **Well done," said George in a low voice. "Wood told us. We're on the team too — Beaters."**

"The best," Oliver said to a beaming pair of twins.

" **I tell you, we're going to win that Quidditch cup for sure this year," said Fred. "We haven't won since Charlie left, but this year's team is going to be brilliant. You must be good, Harry, Wood was almost skipping when he told us."**

"I was not," Oliver said with a glare.

"Yeah, you were." Fred said with a nod.

" **Anyway, we've got to go, Lee Jordan reckons he's found a new secret passageway out of the school."**

"Yeah right!" George rolled his eyes.

" **Bet it's that one behind the statue of Gregory the Smarmy that we found in our first week. See you."**

"It was," Fred frowned. "But, Lee was so happy that we didn't have the heart to tell him otherwise."

**Fred and George had hardly disappeared when someone far less welcome turned up: Malfoy, flanked by Crabbe and Goyle.**

" **Having a last meal, Potter? When are you getting the train back to the Muggles?"**

"Git!"

" **You're a lot braver now that you're back on the ground and you've got your little friends with you," said Harry coolly. There was of course nothing at all little about Crabbe and Goyle, but as the High Table was full of teachers, neither of them could do more than crack their knuckles and scowl.**

" **I'd take you on anytime on my own," said Malfoy. "Tonight, if you want. Wizard's duel. Wands only — no contact.**

"You're only first years," Alicia glared. "What would happen?"

**What's the matter? Never heard of a wizard's duel before, I suppose?"**

"Boys," Katie rolled her eyes.

" **Of course he has," said Ron, wheeling around. "I'm his second, who's yours?"**

**Malfoy looked at Crabbe and Goyle, sizing them up.**

" **Crabbe," he said. "Midnight all right? We'll meet you in the trophy room; that's always unlocked."**

**When Malfoy had gone, Ron and Harry looked at each other.**

" **What is a wizard's duel?" said Harry. "And what do you mean, you're my second?"**

" **Well, a second's there to take over if you die," said Ron casually, getting started at last on his cold pie. Catching the look on Harry's face, he added quickly, "But people only die in proper duels, you know, with real wizards. The most you and Malfoy'll be able to do is send sparks at each other. Neither of you knows enough magic to do any real damage. I bet he expected you to refuse, anyway."**

"Good thing you didn't." Oliver grinned. "Show that slimy snake."

Harry and Ron paled a little. They'd be meeting Fluffy for the first time in this chapter.

" **And what if I wave my wand and nothing happens?"**

" **Throw it away and punch him on the nose," Ron suggested.**

"Well that always works," Hermione said with a roll of her eyes. "Malfoy's such a pureblood prat that he wouldn't expect you to fight the muggle way."

" **Excuse me."**

**They both looked up. It was Hermione Granger.**

" **Can't a person eat in peace in this place?" said Ron.**

**Hermione ignored him and spoke to Harry.**

" **I couldn't help overhearing what you and Malfoy were saying —"**

"Bet you could," Fred muttered.

" **Bet you could," Ron muttered.**

"Nice Fred," George laughed until Hermione glared at the pair of them.

"— **and you** _ **mustn't**_ **go wandering around the school at night, think of the points you'll lose Gryffindor if you're caught, and you're bound to be. It's really very selfish of you."**

"How was that any of your business?" Cho asked.

" **And it's really none of your business," said Harry.**

" **Good-bye," said Ron.**

**All the same, it wasn't what you'd call the perfect end to the day, Harry thought, as he lay awake much later listening to Dean and Seamus falling asleep (Neville wasn't back from the hospital wing). Ron had spent all evening giving him advice such as "If he tries to curse you, you'd better dodge it, because I can't remember how to block them."**

"Then why are you his second?" Fred asked. "Hermione would have been better."

**There was a very good chance they were going to get caught by Filch or Mrs. Norris, and Harry felt he was pushing his luck, breaking another school rule today. On the other hand, Malfoy's sneering face kept looming up out of the darkness — this was his big chance to beat Malfoy face-to-face. He couldn't miss it.**

"I think it's a trap," Cedric said with a frown.

" **Half-past eleven," Ron muttered at last, "we'd better go."**

**They pulled on their bathrobes, picked up their wands, and crept across the tower room, down the spiral staircase, and into the Gryffindor common room. A few embers were still glowing in the fireplace, turning all the armchairs into hunched black shadows. They had almost reached the portrait hole when a voice spoke from the chair nearest them, "I can't believe you're going to do this, Harry."**

**A lamp flickered on. It was Hermione Granger, wearing a pink bathrobe and a frown.**

" _ **You!**_ " **said Ron furiously. "Go back to bed!"**

" **I almost told your brother," Hermione snapped, "Percy — he's a prefect, he'd put a stop to this."**

"A bit too far," Katie told the girl.

"I know." Hermione said with a frown.

**Harry couldn't believe anyone could be so interfering.**

" **Come on," he said to Ron. He pushed open the portrait of the Fat Lady and climbed through the hole.**

**Hermione wasn't going to give up that easily. She followed Ron through the portrait hole, hissing at them like an angry goose.**

" **Don't you** _ **care**_ **about Gryffindor, do you** _ **only**_ **care about yourselves,** _ **I**_ **don't want Slytherin to win the house cup, and you'll lose all the points I got from Professor McGonagall for knowing about Switching Spells."**

" **Go away."**

" **All right, but I warned you, you just remember what I said when you're on the train home tomorrow, you're so —"**

"Hermione, when did you mellow out?" Oliver asked the girl.

"Not too long after this, I think." Hermione said with a smirk.

**But what they were, they didn't find out. Hermione had turned to the portrait of the Fat Lady to get back inside and found herself facing an empty painting. The Fat Lady had gone on a nighttime visit and Hermione was locked out of Gryffindor tower.**

" **Now what am I going to do?" she asked shrilly.**

" **That's your problem," said Ron. "We've got to go, we're going to be late."**

**They hadn't even reached the end of the corridor when Hermione caught up with them.**

" **I'm coming with you," she said.**

"Why?" the twins asked.

"I didn't want to get into trouble with Filch."

"Oh."

" **You are** _ **not**_ **."**

" **D'you think I'm going to stand out here and wait for Filch to catch me? If he finds all three of us I'll tell him the truth, that I was trying to stop you, and you can back me up."**

" **You've got some nerve —" said Ron loudly.**

" **Shut up, both of you!" said Harry sharply. "I heard something."**

**It was a sort of snuffling.**

" **Mrs. Norris?" breathed Ron, squinting through the dark.**

**It wasn't Mrs. Norris. It was Neville. He was curled up on the floor, fast asleep, but jerked suddenly awake as they crept nearer.**

" **Thank goodness you found me! I've been out here for hours, I couldn't remember the new password to get in to bed."**

" **Keep your voice down, Neville. The password's 'Pig snout' but it won't help you now, the Fat Lady's gone off somewhere."**

" **How's your arm?" said Harry.**

"At least one of you cares," Alicia glared at Ron and Hermione.

" **Fine," said Neville, showing them. "Madam Pomfrey mended it in about a minute."**

" **Good — well, look, Neville, we've got to be somewhere, we'll see you later —"**

" **Don't leave me!" said Neville, scrambling to his feet, "I don't want to stay here alone, the Bloody Baron's been past twice already."**

"Why was he—"

"—up there? He's the—"

"—Slytherin ghost." The twins asked.

**Ron looked at his watch and then glared furiously at Hermione and Neville.**

" **If either of you get us caught, I'll never rest until I've learned that Curse of the Bogies Quirrell told us about, and used it on you."**

"Bill knows it," Fred said. "He'd teach you Ron."

"He's planning on teaching Ginny when she's older anyway," George told his little brother.

**Hermione opened her mouth, perhaps to tell Ron exactly how to use the Curse of the Bogies,**

"I was," Hermione said, blushing.

**but Harry hissed at her to be quiet and beckoned them all forward.**

**They flitted along corridors striped with bars of moonlight from the high windows. At every turn Harry expected to run into Filch or Mrs. Norris, but they were lucky. They sped up a staircase to the third floor and tiptoed toward the trophy room.**

**Malfoy and Crabbe weren't there yet.**

"We should have known it was a trap," Harry whispered to Ron.

**The crystal trophy cases glimmered where the moonlight caught them. Cups, shields, plates, and statues winked silver and gold in the darkness. They edged along the walls, keeping their eyes on the doors at either end of the room. Harry took out his wand in case Malfoy leapt in and started at once.**

**The minutes crept by.**

" **He's late, maybe he's chickened out," Ron whispered.**

**Then a noise in the next room made them jump. Harry had only just raised his wand when they heard someone speak — and it wasn't Malfoy.**

" **Sniff around, my sweet, they might be lurking in a corner."**

"RUN!" the whole Quidditch team, except for Harry, yelled.

**It was Filch speaking to Mrs. Norris. Horror-struck, Harry waved madly at the other three to follow him as quickly as possible; they scurried silently toward the door, away from Filch's voice. Neville's robes had barely whipped round the corner when they heard Filch enter the trophy room.**

" **They're in here somewhere," they heard him mutter, "probably hiding."**

" **This way!" Harry mouthed to the others and, petrified,**

"How can they walk if they're petrified?" Fred asked.

"It's a figure of speech," Katie said with a smile.

**they began to creep down a long gallery full of suits of armor. They could hear Filch getting nearer. Neville suddenly let out a frightened squeak and broke into a run he tripped, grabbed Ron around the waist, and the pair of them toppled right into a suit of armor. The clanging and crashing were enough to wake the whole castle.**

" **RUN!" Harry yelled, and the four of them sprinted down the gallery, not looking back to see whether Filch was following — they swung around the doorpost and galloped down one corridor then another, Harry in the lead, without any idea where they were or where they were going — they ripped through a tapestry and found themselves in a hidden passageway, hurtled along it and came out near their Charms classroom, which they knew was miles from the trophy room.**

" **I think we've lost him," Harry panted, leaning against the cold wall and wiping his forehead. Neville was bent double, wheezing and spluttering.**

" **I —** _ **told**_ — **you," Hermione gasped, clutching at the stitch in her chest, "I — told — you."**

"Not the time," Cedric told her.

" **We've got to get back to Gryffindor tower," said Ron, "quickly as possible."**

" **Malfoy tricked you," Hermione said to Harry. "You realize that, don't you? He was never going to meet you — Filch knew someone was going to be in the trophy room, Malfoy must have tipped him off."**

"Way to point out the obvious," Cho giggled.

**Harry thought she was probably right, but he wasn't going to tell her that.**

" **Let's go."**

**It wasn't going to be that simple. They hadn't gone more than a dozen paces when a doorknob rattled and something came shooting out of a classroom in front of them.**

**It was Peeves.**

"Bad luck mate."

**He caught sight of them and gave a squeal of delight.**

" **Shut up, Peeves — please — you'll get us thrown out."**

"Who said that?" George asked.

"I think it was Harry." Ron muttered.

"No, I think it was Neville." Hermione said with a frown.

**Peeves cackled.**

" **Wandering around at midnight, Ickle Firsties? Tut, tut, tut. Naughty, naughty, you'll get caughty."**

" **Not if you don't give us away, Peeves, please."**

" **Should tell Filch, I should," said Peeves in a saintly voice, but his eyes glittered wickedly. "It's for your own good, you know."**

" **Get out of the way," snapped Ron, taking a swipe at Peeves this was a big mistake.**

"That's about the worst thing you could have done," Fred said looking at Ron.

"Don't I know it."

" **STUDENTS OUT OF BED!" Peeves bellowed, "STUDENTS OUT OF BED DOWN THE CHARMS CORRIDOR!"**

**Ducking under Peeves, they ran for their lives, right to the end of the corridor where they slammed into a door — and it was locked.**

" **This is it!" Ron moaned, as they pushed helplessly at the door, "We're done for! This is the end!"**

"Just use Alohomora," Cho said.

"But that's not a first year spell," Angelina said worried

**They could hear footsteps, Filch running as fast as he could toward Peeves's shouts.**

" **Oh, move over," Hermione snarled.**

"Go Hermione!"

**She grabbed Harry's wand, tapped the lock, and whispered, "** _**Alohomora** _ **!"**

**The lock clicked and the door swung open — they piled through it, shut it quickly, and pressed their ears against it, listening.**

" **Which way did they go, Peeves?" Filch was saying. "Quick, tell me."**

" **Say 'please.'"**

"Good, he's not going to tell," the twins smiled.

"How often do you run into Peeves?" Katie asked.

"Too many times to count."

" **Don't mess with me, Peeves, now** _ **where did they go**_ **?"**

" **Shan't say nothing if you don't say please," said Peeves in his annoying singsong voice.**

" **All right —** _ **please**_ **."**

" **NOTHING! Ha haaa! Told you I wouldn't say nothing if you didn't say please! Ha ha! Haaaaaa!"**

**And they heard the sound of Peeves whooshing away and Filch cursing in rage.**

"Gotta love Peeves," the twins grinned.

" **He thinks this door is locked," Harry whispered. "I think we'll be okay — get** _ **off**_ **, Neville!"**

**For Neville had been tugging on the sleeve of Harry's bathrobe for the last minute. "** _**What** _ **?"**

**Harry turned around — and saw, quite clearly, what. For a moment, he was sure he'd walked into a nightmare — this was too much, on top of everything that had happened so far.**

"You have the worst luck, Harry," Oliver said. He was a little pale from what had all happened.

**They weren't in a room, as he had supposed. They were in a corridor. The forbidden corridor on the third floor. And now they knew why it was forbidden.**

"Why?" Katie asked worried.

**They were looking straight into the eyes of a monstrous dog, a dog that filled the whole space between ceiling and floor. It had three heads. Three pairs of rolling, mad eyes; three noses, twitching and quivering in their direction; three drooling mouths, saliva hanging in slippery ropes from yellowish fangs.**

"Bloody Hell, what in Hegla's name is that doing in the school!" Cedric shouted.

"Cedric, don't swear," Cho told him but she too was worried.

"Think Fluffy's still there?" Ron whispered to Harry.

**It was standing quite still, all six eyes staring at them, and Harry knew that the only reason they weren't already dead was that their sudden appearance had taken it by surprise, but it was quickly getting over that, there was no mistaking what those thunderous growls meant.**

**Harry groped for the doorknob — between Filch and death, he'd take Filch.**

"Any sane person would," Angelina said with a nod. She still had a worried look on her face.

**hey fell backward — Harry slammed the door shut, and they ran, they almost flew, back down the corridor. Filch must have hurried off to look for them somewhere else, because they didn't see him anywhere, but they hardly cared — all they wanted to do was put as much space as possible between them and that monster. They didn't stop running until they reached the portrait of the Fat Lady on the seventh floor.**

" **Where on earth have you all been?" she asked, looking at their bathrobes hanging off their shoulders and their flushed, sweaty faces.**

" **Never mind that — pig snout, pig snout," panted Harry, and the portrait swung forward. They scrambled into the common room and collapsed, trembling, into armchairs.**

**It was a while before any of them said anything. Neville, indeed, looked as if he'd never speak again.**

" **What do they think they're doing, keeping a thing like that locked up in a school?" said Ron finally. "If any dog needs exercise, that one does."**

"Nice one Ron," Fred said shaking his head. He was a little worried that his little brother was so close to such a dangerous creature.

**Hermione had got both her breath and her bad temper back again. "You don't use your eyes, any of you, do you?" she snapped. "Didn't you see what it was standing on?"**

" **The floor?" Harry suggested. "I wasn't looking at its feet, I was too busy with its heads."**

"As you should be," Alicia said worried.

" **No,** _ **not**_ **the floor. It was standing on a trapdoor. It's obviously guarding something."**

**She stood up, glaring at them.**

" **I hope you're pleased with yourselves. We could all have been killed — or worse, expelled. Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to bed."**

"Expelled is worse—"

"—than being killed?" the twins asked.

**Ron stared after her, his mouth open.**

Everyone else in the locker room, with the exception of Harry and Ron, copied the same action.

" **No, we don't mind," he said. "You'd think we dragged her along, wouldn't you."**

**But Hermione had given Harry something else to think about as he climbed back into bed. The dog was guarding something… What had Hagrid said? Gringotts was the safest place in the world for something you wanted to hide — except perhaps Hogwarts.**

**It looked as though Harry had found out where the grubby little package from vault seven hundred and thirteen was.**

"Alright, that's the end of that chapter." Hermione said in a faint voice. "Whose turn is it next?"

"Cedric's," Cho said. Hermione handed the book to the Hufflepuff and he flipped open the book. "The next chapter is called Halloween."


	10. Chapter 10

" **Halloween,"** Cedric read.

"Troll in the dungeon," Harry whispered to Ron and Hermione.

"Thought you'd ought to know," Hermione whispered back.

**Malfoy couldn't believe his eyes when he saw that Harry and Ron were still at Hogwarts the next day, looking tired but perfectly cheerful.**

"Good!" the girls said.

"Git!" all the boys exclaimed.

**Indeed, by the next morning Harry and Ron thought that meeting the three-headed dog had been an excellent adventure, and they were quite keen to have another one.**

"Gryffindors!" Oliver said with a fond smile.

**In the meantime, Harry filled Ron in about the package that seemed to have been moved from Gringotts to Hogwarts, and they spent a lot of time wondering what could possibly need such heavy protection.**

" **It's either really valuable or really dangerous," said Ron.**

"Or both," the twins said at the same time.

" **Or both," said Harry.**

"I was right," Harry whispered to Ron.

Everyone else chuckled at the looks on Fred and George's faces.

**But as all they knew for sure about the mysterious object was that it was about two inches long, they didn't have much chance of guessing what it was without further clues.**

"I still wonder what it could be," Alicia said, frowning.

**Neither Neville nor Hermione showed the slightest interest in what lay underneath the dog and the trapdoor.**

**All Neville cared about was never going near the dog again.**

"Smart kid," Cho nodded. "He clearly has his brain in the right space,"

"But it was a giant three headed dog!" Cedric said in disbelief. "How could you not want to go near it?"

"That was sarcasm right?" Katie asked.

"Ya think?" Fred rolled his eyes.

**Hermione was now refusing to speak to Harry and Ron, but she was such a bossy know-it-all that they saw this as an added bonus.**

Angelina and Katie sent glares at the two second year boys, though that caused Fred and George to send glares back at them for making Harry and Ron feel bad about something that already happened.

**All they really wanted now was a way of getting back at Malfoy, and to their great delight, just such a thing arrived in the mail about a week later.**

"Did the git get detention?" Oliver asked.

"No, just wait." Harry said with a grin.

**As the owls flooded into the Great Hall as usual, everyone's attention was caught at once by a long, thin package carried by six large screech owls. Harry was just as interested as everyone else to see what was in this large parcel, and was amazed when the owls soared down and dropped it right in front of him, knocking his bacon to the floor.**

"I loved that moment. All the Slytherins faces looked like they smelt a dungbomb," Fred remembered with glee.

**They had hardly fluttered out of the way when another owl dropped a letter on top of the parcel.**

**Harry ripped open the letter first, which was lucky, because it said:**

_**DO NOT OPEN THE PARCEL AT THE TABLE.** _

"It's a package shaped like a broomstick," Cho said in disbelief. "People would know what it was even if Harry didn't open it."

_**It contains your new Nimbus Two Thousand, but I don't want everybody knowing you've got a broomstick or they'll all want one. Oliver Wood will meet you tonight on the Quidditch field at seven o'clock for your first training session.** _

_**Professor McGonagall** _

**Harry had difficulty hiding his glee as he handed the note to Ron to read.**

"I was very jealous of you right then," Ron whispered to Harry.

" **A Nimbus Two Thousand!" Ron moaned enviously. "I've never even** _ **touched**_ **one."**

**They left the hall quickly, wanting to unwrap the broomstick in private before their first class, but halfway across the entrance hall they found the way upstairs barred by Crabbe and Goyle. Malfoy seized the package from Harry and felt it.**

All the boys made a face at that, and Hermione giggled.

"What?" Cho asked.

"Felt Harry's broomstick," Ron explained, "just sound very wrong."

" **That's a broomstick," he said, throwing it back to Harry with a mixture of jealousy and spite on his face. "You'll be in for it this time, Potter, first years aren't allowed them."**

**Ron couldn't resist it.**

"Boys," Angelina said rolling her eyes.

" **It's not any old broomstick," he said, "it's a Nimbus Two Thousand. What did you say you've got at home, Malfoy, a Comet Two Sixty?"**

"Nice Ron!" the twins high fived their brother.

**Ron grinned at Harry. "Comets look flashy, but they're not in the same league as the Nimbus."**

" **What would you know about it, Weasley, you couldn't afford half the handle," Malfoy snapped back. "I suppose you and your brothers have to save up twig by twig."**

The glares sent to the book in Cedric's hands made Harry amazed that it hadn't caught fire.

**Before Ron could answer, Professor Flitwick appeared at Malfoy's elbow.**

" **Not arguing, I hope, boys?" he squeaked.**

" **Potter's been sent a broomstick, Professor," said Malfoy quickly.**

" **Yes, yes, that's right," said Professor Flitwick, beaming at Harry. "Professor McGonagall told me all about the special circumstances, Potter. And what model is it?"**

" **A Nimbus Two Thousand, it is," said Harry, fighting not to laugh at the look of horror on Malfoy's face. "And it's really thanks to Malfoy here that I've got it," he added.**

"Burn!" Fred yelled.

"Nice one Harry," Cedric chuckled.

**Harry and Ron headed upstairs, smothering their laughter at Malfoy's obvious rage and confusion.**

Everyone in the room had no problem in letting their laughter run wild.

" **Well, it's true," Harry chortled as they reached the top of the marble staircase, "If he hadn't stolen Neville's Remembrall I wouldn't be on the team…"**

" **So I suppose you think that's a reward for breaking rules?" came an angry voice from just behind them. Hermione was stomping up the stairs, looking disapprovingly at the package in Harry's hand.**

"Whoa, relax Hermione," Fred said shocked.

"He broke a rule and was rewarded," Hermione sniffed.

" **I thought you weren't speaking to us?" said Harry.**

" **Yes, don't stop now," said Ron, "it's doing us so much good."**

"Ron!" Angelina glared.

**Hermione marched away with her nose in the air.**

**Harry had a lot of trouble keeping his mind on his lessons that day. It kept wandering up to the dormitory where his new broomstick was lying under his bed, or straying off to the Quidditch field where he'd be learning to play that night.**

"Harry!" Hermione scolded. "You should be paying attention."

**He bolted his dinner that evening without noticing what he was eating, and then rushed upstairs with Ron to unwrap the Nimbus Two Thousand at last.**

" **Wow," Ron sighed, as the broomstick rolled onto Harry's bedspread.**

All the boys wore dreamy looks as the broom was mentioned.

**Even Harry, who knew nothing about the different brooms, thought it looked wonderful. Sleek and shiny, with a mahogany handle, it had a long tail of neat, straight twigs and Nimbus Two Thousand written in gold near the top.**

"It's beautiful," Cedric sighed.

**As seven o'clock drew nearer, Harry left the castle and set off in the dusk toward the Quidditch field. Held never been inside the stadium before. Hundreds of seats were raised in stands around the field so that the spectators were high enough to see what was going on. At either end of the field were three golden poles with hoops on the end. They reminded Harry of the little plastic sticks Muggle children blew bubbles through, except that they were fifty feet high.**

"They do, don't they?" Hermione chuckled.

**Too eager to fly again to wait for Wood, Harry mounted his broomstick and kicked off from the ground. What a feeling — he swooped in and out of the goal posts and then sped up and down the field. The Nimbus Two Thousand turned wherever he wanted at his lightest touch.**

"I love my broom." Harry sighed.

" **Hey, Potter, come down!"**

**Oliver Wood had arrived. He was carrying a large wooden crate under his arm. Harry landed next to him.**

" **Very nice," said Wood, his eyes glinting. "I see what McGonagall meant… you really are a natural. I'm just going to teach you the rules this evening, then you'll be joining team practice three times a week."**

**He opened the crate. Inside were four different-sized balls.**

" **Right," said Wood. "Now, Quidditch is easy enough to understand, even if it's not too easy to play. There are seven players on each side. Three of them are called Chasers."**

"Three of the best are in this room," Harry said meekly. Katie, Alicia and Angelina grinned and hugged him.

" **Three Chasers," Harry repeated, as Wood took out a bright red ball about the size of a soccer ball.**

"What's soccer?" Fred asked.

"Muggle sport," Harry said, and it seemed to please the confused purebloods in the room.

" **This ball's called the Quaffle," said Wood. "The Chasers throw the Quaffle to each other and try and get it through one of the hoops to score a goal. Ten points every time the Quaffle goes through one of the hoops. Follow me?"**

" **The Chasers throw the Quaffle and put it through the hoops to score," Harry recited. "So — that's sort of like basketball on broomsticks with six hoops, isn't it?"**

"I never did get an answer," Oliver said with a smirk.

"Another muggle sport," Hermione said simply.

" **What's basketball?" said Wood curiously.**

" **Never mind," said Harry quickly.**

"Nice," Hermione chuckled.

" **Now, there's another player on each side who's called the Keeper — I'm Keeper for Gryffindor. I have to fly around our hoops and stop the other team from scoring."**

"Whoo!" Oliver cheered for…himself.

"He knows he's cheering for himself, right?" Harry asked Angelina.

"Eh. Who knows?"

" **Three Chasers, one Keeper," said Harry, who was determined to remember it all. "And they play with the Quaffle. Okay, got that. So what are they for?" He pointed at the three balls left inside the box.**

" **I'll show you now," said Wood. "Take this."**

**He handed Harry a small club, a bit like a short baseball bat.**

"Yet another muggle sport," Katie explained.

" **I'm going to show you what the Bludgers do," Wood said. "These two are the Bludgers."**

**He showed Harry two identical balls, jet black and slightly smaller than the red Quaffle. Harry noticed that they seemed to be straining to escape the straps holding them inside the box.**

" **Stand back," Wood warned Harry. He bent down and freed one of the Bludgers.**

**At once, the black ball rose high in the air and then pelted straight at Harry's face. Harry swung at it with the bat to stop it from breaking his nose, and sent it zigzagging away into the air — it zoomed around their heads and then shot at Wood, who dived on top of it and managed to pin it to the ground.**

"You'd make—"

"—a fair beater," the twins said to Harry.

" **See?" Wood panted, forcing the struggling Bludger back into the crate and strapping it down safely. "The Bludgers rocket around, trying to knock players off their brooms. That's why you have two Beaters on each team — the Weasley twins are ours — it's their job to protect their side from the Bludgers and try and knock them toward the other team. So — think you've got all that?"**

" **Three Chasers try and score with the Quaffle; the Keeper guards the goal posts; the Beaters keep the Bludgers away from their team," Harry reeled off.**

" **Very good," said Wood.**

" **Er — have the Bludgers ever killed anyone?" Harry asked, hoping he sounded offhand.**

"Not at Hogwarts!" the twins and Oliver said with a smile.

"You need to be less pessimistic," Alicia told Harry.

" **Never at Hogwarts. We've had a couple of broken jaws but nothing worse than that. Now, the last member of the team is the Seeker. That's you. And you don't have to worry about the Quaffle or the Bludgers —"**

"— **unless they crack my head open."**

" **Don't worry, the Weasleys are more than a match for the Bludgers — I mean, they're like a pair of human Bludgers themselves."**

"Oliver, you flatter us!" the twins said with smiles on their faces.

"Only they would be flattered by that," Katie muttered.

**Wood reached into the crate and took out the fourth and last ball. Compared with the Quaffle and the Bludgers, it was tiny, about the size of a large walnut. It was bright gold and had little fluttering silver wings.**

" _ **This**_ **," said Wood, "is the Golden Snitch, and it's the most important ball of the lot. It's very hard to catch because it's so fast and difficult to see. It's the Seeker's job to catch it. You've got to weave in and out of the Chasers, Beaters, Bludgers, and Quaffle to get it before the other team's Seeker, because whichever Seeker catches the Snitch wins his team an extra hundred and fifty points, so they nearly always win.**

"So every other player is useless," Hermione mused out lout and blushed at the glares she got from the rest of the team. Cedric and Cho beamed at her though.

**That's why Seekers get fouled so much. A game of Quidditch only ends when the Snitch is caught, so it can go on for ages — I think the record is three months, they had to keep bringing on substitutes so the players could get some sleep.**

" **Well, that's it any questions?"**

**Harry shook his head. He understood what he had to do all right, it was doing it that was going to be the problem.**

"I can't believe you had these doubts," Katie said. "You're the best seeker we've ever had."

" **We won't practice with the Snitch yet," said Wood, carefully shutting it back inside the crate, "it's too dark, we might lose it. Let's try you out with a few of these."**

**He pulled a bag of ordinary golf balls out of his pocket and a few minutes later, he and Harry were up in the air, Wood throwing the golf balls as hard as he could in every direction for Harry to catch.**

**Harry didn't miss a single one, and Wood was delighted. After half an hour, night had really fallen and they couldn't carry on.**

"Unfortunately," Harry sighed. He loved being on his broom.

" **That Quidditch Cup'll have our name on it this year," said Wood happily as they trudged back up to the castle. "I wouldn't be surprised if you turn out better than Charlie Weasley, and he could have played for England if he hadn't gone off chasing dragons."**

"It's true," Fred said. Then, to the ceiling, he asked "Is there someway for Bill, Charlie and Ginny to read these with us?"

A note fluttered down from the ceiling. George grabbed it and said "Charlie will come when you read about Harry's first Quidditch match. Ginny will come when you begin the second book and Bill won't come until the fourth? So unfair."

"Hey," Cedric flipped ahead. "The next chapter's labeled Quidditch."

**Perhaps it was because he was now so busy, what with Quidditch practice three evenings a week on top of all his homework, but Harry could hardly believe it when he realized that he'd already been at Hogwarts two months. The castle felt more like home than Privet Drive ever had.**

The group frowned. A school shouldn't be a home.

**His lessons, too, were becoming more and more interesting now that they had mastered the basics.**

"They are," Cho nodded.

**On Halloween morning they woke to the delicious smell of baking pumpkin wafting through the corridors. Even better, Professor Flitwick announced in Charms that he thought they were ready to start making objects fly, something they had all been dying to try since they'd seen him make Neville's toad zoom around the classroom.**

"Poor Trevor," Hermione giggled, though it was strained. She didn't like the fact that she was going to hear herself get insulted again.

**Professor Flitwick put the class into pairs to practice. Harry's partner was Seamus Finnigan (which was a relief, because Neville had been trying to catch his eye).**

**Ron, however, was to be working with Hermione Granger.**

"Not going to end well," Fred said.

**It was hard to tell whether Ron or Hermione was angrier about this. She hadn't spoken to either of them since the day Harry's broomstick had arrived.**

"I think Hermione was angrier," Harry muttered and was caught with two glares from his friends.

" **Now, don't forget that nice wrist movement we've been practicing!" squeaked Professor**

**Flitwick perched on top of his pile of books as usual. "Swish and flick, remember, swish and flick. And saying the magic words properly is very important, too — never forget Wizard Baruffio, who said 's' instead of 'f' and found himself on the floor with a buffalo on his chest."**

"Is that true?" Oliver asked Cho.

"Not that I know."

**It was very difficult.**

"Yeah, it is." Cedric nodded. He wasn't the best at Charms either.

**Harry and Seamus swished and flicked, but the feather they were supposed to be sending skyward just lay on the desktop. Seamus got so impatient that he prodded it with his wand and set fire to it — Harry had to put it out with his hat.**

"Does he do that often?" Alicia asked. She would see the second year with ash dust all over his face when she would pass him in the hallways.

"Yep," said the trio.

**Ron, at the next table, wasn't having much more luck.**

" **Wingardium Leviosa!" he shouted, waving his long arms like a windmill.**

"Nice try little brother," Fred said. "At least you didn't light yours on fire like Bill did his first time."

" **You're saying it wrong," Harry heard Hermione snap. "It's Wing-gar-dium Levi-o-sa, make the 'gar' nice and long."**

"I was a nightmare, wasn't I?" Hermione giggled a little.

"Maybe," Harry told her.

" **You do it, then, if you're so clever," Ron snarled.**

**Hermione rolled up the sleeves of her gown, flicked her wand, and said, "Wingardium Leviosa!"**

**Their feather rose off the desk and hovered about four feet above their heads.**

" **Oh, well done!" cried Professor Flitwick, clapping. "Everyone see here, Miss Granger's done it!"**

**Ron was in a very bad mood by the end of the class.**

"Not my fault I could do the spell," Hermione said in a small voice.

"I know that now," Ron told her.

" **It's no wonder no one can stand her," he said to Harry as they pushed their way into the crowded corridor, "she's a nightmare, honestly."**

**Someone knocked into Harry as they hurried past him. It was Hermione. Harry caught a glimpse of her face — and was startled to see that she was in tears.**

"Oh, no!" Alicia cried.

"I can't believe you had to hear that," Katie told Hermione. Harry stiffened. He thought they were being hypocritical. After all, they certainly didn't keep their voices down when they were shunning and insulting him after the dragon incident.

" **I think she heard you."**

" **So?" said Ron, but he looked a bit uncomfortable. "She must've noticed she's got no friends."**

"Harsh and uncalled for," Cho frowned.

"Did you hear him say that?" Alicia asked Hermione.

"Yes I did," Hermione looked down at her feet. All the girls, Cedric and Oliver glared at Ron.

**Hermione didn't turn up for the next class and wasn't seen all afternoon. On their way down to the Great Hall for the Halloween feast, Harry and Ron overheard Parvati Patil telling her friend Lavender that Hermione was crying in the girls' bathroom and wanted to be left alone. Ron looked still more awkward at this, but a moment later they had entered the Great Hall, where the Halloween decorations put Hermione out of their minds.**

"Hmmm? Very nice boys," Katie glared at the two boys.

**A thousand live bats fluttered from the walls and ceiling while a thousand more swooped over the tables in low black clouds, making the candles in the pumpkins stutter. The feast appeared suddenly on the golden plates, as it had at the start-of-term banquet.**

"I love Halloween," Cho sighed.

"I don't," Harry muttered. Who would love the day his parents died?

**Harry was just helping himself to a baked potato when Professor Quirrell came sprinting into the hall, his turban askew and terror on his face. Everyone stared as he reached Professor Dumbledore's chair, slumped against the table, and gasped, "Troll — in the dungeons — thought you ought to know."**

"A TROLL!" Cho and Angelina exclaimed.

"You all knew that," Harry said meekly.

"We didn't believe it," Katie explained. "We thought it was like a boggart."

"A what?" Ron asked.

"A shapeshifter. It takes the form of your greatest fear," Cho explained.

**He then sank to the floor in a dead faint.**

"I still can't believe he was our DADA teacher," Alicia rolled her eyes. No one noticed the dark looks on the trio's faces.

**There was an uproar. It took several purple firecrackers exploding from the end of Professor Dumbledore's wand to bring silence.**

" **Prefects," he rumbled, "lead your Houses back to the dormitories immediately!"**

"Wait!" Cho said. "Slytherin's common rooms are in the dungeons!"

"How do you know that?" Cedric asked.

"It's in Hogwarts: A History."

"They went to the library, heard Flint talking about it," Oliver told them, though he muttered something about Flint being related somehow to the troll.

**Percy was in his element.**

" **Follow me! Stick together, first years! No need to fear the troll if you follow my orders! Stay close behind me, now. Make way, first years coming through! Excuse me, I'm a prefect!"**

"Prat!"

" **How could a troll get in?" Harry asked as they climbed the stairs.**

" **Don't ask me, they're supposed to be really stupid," said Ron. "Maybe Peeves let it in for a Halloween joke."**

"Peeves wouldn't attempt to kill anyone," the twins defended their cohort in the art of mischief making.

**They passed different groups of people hurrying in different directions. As they jostled their way through a crowd of confused Hufflepuffs, Harry suddenly grabbed Ron's arm.**

" **I've just thought — Hermione."**

"You don't know," Katie said in realization, biting her lip.

" **What about her?"**

" **She doesn't know about the troll."**

**Ron bit his lip.**

" **Oh, all right," he snapped. "But Percy'd better not see us."**

"You're going after her?" Angelina asked.

"We weren't about to let her get killed," Harry said.

**Ducking down, they joined the Hufflepuffs going the other way, slipped down a deserted side corridor, and hurried off toward the girls' bathroom. They had just turned the corner when they heard quick footsteps behind them.**

" **Percy!" hissed Ron, pulling Harry behind a large stone griffin.**

**Peering around it, however, they saw not Percy but Snape. He crossed the corridor and disappeared from view.**

"What is he doing?" Alicia asked.

" **What's he doing?" Harry whispered. "Why isn't he down in the dungeons with the rest of the teachers?"**

" **Search me."**

**Quietly as possible, they crept along the next corridor after Snape's fading footsteps.**

" **He's heading for the third floor," Harry said, but Ron held up his hand.**

"Why would he be going up to the third floor?" Cedric asked.

"Worry about that later." Fred told him. "Right now, let's worry about the _troll_!"

" **Can you smell something?"**

**Harry sniffed and a foul stench reached his nostrils, a mixture of old socks and the kind of public toilet no one seems to clean.**

"Troll," Cho said faintly.

**And then they heard it — a low grunting, and the shuffling footfalls of gigantic feet. Ron pointed — at the end of a passage to the left, something huge was moving toward them. They shrank into the shadows and watched as it emerged into a patch of moonlight.**

**It was a horrible sight. Twelve feet tall, its skin was a dull, granite gray, its great lumpy body like a boulder with its small bald head perched on top like a coconut. It had short legs thick as tree trunks with flat, horny feet. The smell coming from it was incredible. It was holding a huge wooden club, which dragged along the floor because its arms were so long.**

**The troll stopped next to a doorway and peered inside. It waggled its long ears, making up its tiny mind, then slouched slowly into the room.**

" **The keys in the lock," Harry muttered. "We could lock it in."**

" **Good idea," said Ron nervously.**

"YOU LOCKED ME IN THERE!" Hermione yelled, glaring at her two friends.

"Err, we didn't know you were in there," Harry said sheepishly. "Out of all the girl's bathrooms it could have been, it had to be the one you were in at the same time. My luck sucks."

"No arguments here mate." Ron said nervously.

**They edged toward the open door, mouths dry, praying the troll wasn't about to come out of it. With one great leap, Harry managed to grab the key, slam the door, and lock it.**

" **Yes!"**

**Flushed with their victory, they started to run back up the passage, but as they reached the corner they heard something that made their hearts stop — a high, petrified scream — and it was coming from the chamber they'd just chained up.**

" **Oh, no," said Ron, pale as the Bloody Baron.**

" **It's the girls' bathroom!" Harry gasped.**

" **Hermione!" they said together.**

"SWEET MERLIN!" The twins yelled. The last thing they wanted was for their little brother to be in the same room as a _troll_!

**It was the last thing they wanted to do, but what choice did they have?**

"Gryffindors," Alicia said with a weak smile.

**Wheeling around, they sprinted back to the door and turned the key, fumbling in their panic. Harry pulled the door open and they ran inside.**

**Hermione Granger was shrinking against the wall opposite, looking as if she was about to faint. The troll was advancing on her, knocking the sinks off the walls as it went.**

Everyone in the room was terrified. Alicia and Katie were biting their nails and the twins were as pale as they could be.

" **Confuse it!" Harry said desperately to Ron, and, seizing a tap, he threw it as hard as he could against the wall.**

**The troll stopped a few feet from Hermione. It lumbered around, blinking stupidly, to see what had made the noise. Its mean little eyes saw Harry. It hesitated, then made for him instead, lifting its club as it went.**

" **Oy, pea-brain!" yelled Ron from the other side of the chamber, and he threw a metal pipe at it. The troll didn't even seem to notice the pipe hitting its shoulder, but it heard the yell and paused again, turning its ugly snout toward Ron instead, giving Harry time to run around it.**

" **Come on, run, run!" Harry yelled at Hermione, trying to pull her toward the door, but she couldn't move, she was still flat against the wall, her mouth open with terror.**

"Not the time to freeze," Cedric told her.

**The shouting and the echoes seemed to be driving the troll berserk. It roared again and started toward Ron, who was nearest and had no way to escape.**

**Harry then did something that was both very brave and very stupid: He took a great running jump and managed to fasten his arms around the troll's neck from behind.**

"Harry, I was joking when I told Ron you'd have to wrestle a troll," Fred said in a weak voice.

**The troll couldn't feel Harry hanging there, but even a troll will notice if you stick a long bit of wood up its nose, and Harry's wand had still been in his hand when he'd jumped – it had gone straight up one of the troll's nostrils.**

"Ew," everyone said.

**Howling with pain, the troll twisted and flailed its club, with Harry clinging on for dear life; any second, the troll was going to rip him off or catch him a terrible blow with the club.**

**Hermione had sunk to the floor in fright; Ron pulled out his own wand — not knowing what he was going to do he heard himself cry the first spell that came into his head: "Wingardium Leviosa!"**

"I can't believe it," Angelina said. "Why would you try a spell that you can't do?"

**The club flew suddenly out of the troll's hand, rose high, high up into the air, turned slowly over — and dropped, with a sickening crack, onto its owner's head.**

"Never mind," Angelina squeaked.

"You, baby brother—"

"—are totally awesome," the twins said, though they were pale to the freckle.

**The troll swayed on the spot and then fell flat on its face, with a thud that made the whole room tremble.**

"And that would alert the teachers," Cho said nervously. She didn't want them getting into trouble.

**Harry got to his feet. He was shaking and out of breath. Ron was standing there with his wand still raised, staring at what he had done.**

**It was Hermione who spoke first.**

" **Is it — dead?"**

" **I don't think so," said Harry, "I think it's just been knocked out."**

**He bent down and pulled his wand out of the troll's nose. It was covered in what looked like lumpy gray glue.**

" **Urgh — troll boogers."**

**He wiped it on the troll's trousers.**

"Eww!" the girls shuddered.

**A sudden slamming and loud footsteps made the three of them look up. They hadn't realized what a racket they had been making, but of course, someone downstairs must have heard the crashes and the troll's roars. A moment later, Professor McGonagall had come bursting into the room, closely followed by Snape, with Quirrell bringing up the rear. Quirrell took one look at the troll, let out a faint whimper, and sat quickly down on a toilet, clutching his heart.**

**Snape bent over the troll. Professor McGonagall was looking at Ron and Harry. Harry had never seen her look so angry. Her lips were white.**

"Ah, that's not so bad," Fred said though he was still pale.

"Yeah, we've made her madder." George had moved so he was sitting next to Ron and was currently hugging him.

"George. Air." Ron squeaked out. George let him go but reluctantly.

"You know, we might have to tell mum," Fred said. "But we'll wait till these books are finished. We don't want to die."

"Yeah, Mum would kill you." Ron chuckled.

**Hopes of winning fifty points for Gryffindor faded quickly from Harry's mind.**

" **What on earth were you thinking of?" said Professor McGonagall, with cold fury in her voice. Harry looked at Ron, who was still standing with his wand in the air. "You're lucky you weren't killed. Why aren't you in your dormitory?"**

**Snape gave Harry a swift, piercing look. Harry looked at the floor. He wished Ron would put his wand down.**

"Sorry mate."

**Then a small voice came out of the shadows.**

" **Please, Professor McGonagall — they were looking for me."**

" **Miss Granger!"**

**Hermione had managed to get to her feet at last.**

" **I went looking for the troll because I — I thought I could deal with it on my own — you know, because I've read all about them."**

"Hermione Granger, teacher's pet—"

"—is lying straight through her teeth?" the twins asked.

"We're doomed," they said after the trio nodded.

**Ron dropped his wand. Hermione Granger, telling a downright lie to a teacher?**

" **If they hadn't found me, I'd be dead now. Harry stuck his wand up its nose and Ron knocked it out with its own club. They didn't have time to come and fetch anyone. It was about to finish me off when they arrived."**

**Harry and Ron tried to look as though this story wasn't new to them.**

"Neither of you succeeded," Hermione said with a giggle.

" **Well — in that case…" said Professor McGonagall, staring at the three of them, "Miss Granger, you foolish girl, how could you think of tackling a mountain troll on your own?"**

**Hermione hung her head. Harry was speechless. Hermione was the last person to do anything against the rules, and here she was, pretending she had, to get them out of trouble. It was as if Snape had started handing out sweets.**

" **Miss Granger, five points will be taken from Gryffindor for this," said Professor McGonagall. "I'm very disappointed in you. If you're not hurt at all, you'd better get off to Gryffindor tower. Students are finishing the feast in their houses."**

"I still can't believe that you lied to a teacher," Cho said. She'd heard some of the first years talking that year and knew what others thought of Hermione.

**Hermione left.**

**Professor McGonagall turned to Harry and Ron.**

" **Well, I still say you were lucky, but not many first years could have taken on a full-grown mountain troll. You each win Gryffindor five points. Professor Dumbledore will be informed of this. You may go."**

**They hurried out of the chamber and didn't speak at all until they had climbed two floors up. It was a relief to be away from the smell of the troll, quite apart from anything else.**

" **We should have gotten more than ten points," Ron grumbled.**

"Yeah, you should have." George nodded. His brother was proving to be more and more amazing with each chapter.

" **Five, you mean, once she's taken off Hermione's."**

" **Good of her to get us out of trouble like that," Ron admitted. "Mind you, we did save her."**

"She wouldn't have needed saving if you hadn't been a prat," Alicia said with a glare.

Fred noticed the fore longed expression on Ron's face and said "Alicia, drop it. It's in the past."

" **She might not have needed saving if we hadn't locked the thing in with her," Harry reminded him.**

**They had reached the portrait of the Fat Lady.**

" **Pig snout," they said and entered.**

**The common room was packed and noisy. Everyone was eating the food that had been sent up. Hermione, however, stood alone by the door, waiting for them. There was a very embarrassed pause. Then, none of them looking at each other, they all said "Thanks," and hurried off to get plates.**

**But from that moment on, Hermione Granger became their friend.**

"Yep it only takes a mountain troll to become friends." Fred laughed.

**There are some things you can't share without ending up liking each other, and knocking out a twelve-foot mountain troll is one of them."**

"That's the end of that," Cedric said with a sigh. "Cho's next."

Before he handed her the book, there was a flash of light and when it cleared, a tall red-headed man was standing in the locker room.

"Charlie!" the twins and Ron yelled and rushed up to greet him.

"Hey," Charlie said. "Err, why am I here?"

After a rushed explanation, Charlie chuckled. "Alright. So I guess I'm stuck here with all of you. Might as well read this book. Maybe I'm mentioned."

Fred whispered to Charlie as he sat down, "We have to have a Weasley meeting when we get out of this. We found out that Ron has an inferiority complex."

Charlie looked at his youngest brother, and said "Alright. But after the books are done."

Then Charlie realized who Ron was sitting next to.

"Sweet Merlin," he gasped. "You're Harry Potter."

"Yeah," Harry said hesitantly. "Nice to meet you."

"Can I read?" Cho said sweetly but in a way that promised pain if someone delayed her chapter again. At everyone's nod, she opened the book and grinned. "Quidditch," she said. "The next chapter's called Quidditch."


	11. Chapter 11

Before Cho began to read, a note fell from the ceiling onto Ron's head. He took it off and read it.

"Dear Weasley Boys," it read. "I lied."

There was a flash of light and when it faded, Bill Weasley and Lee Jordan were standing in the locker room.

"Lee!" the twins yelled.

"Hello, big brother," Charlie chuckled.

"What am I doing here?" Bill asked. Lee just chuckled and sat by the twins, thinking it was the result of one of their pranks.

"You're here to read!" Oliver said with a chuckle. "All of us are."

Bill sat down opposite Ron and chuckled. It was amazing what you could get used to when you were related to Fred and George. Lee sat down next to Fred, as George was still sitting next to Ron.

"Hey Harry," Lee smiled at the younger boy.

"Hey Lee."

Bill blinked and said "You're Harry Potter? The Harry Potter?"

"Umm? Yeah?"

Seeing the young boy was uncomfortable, Oliver said "I know, it's weird. Let it go." Nodding to Cho, he said "I believe it's your turn to read.

 **Quidditch** Cho read.

"Whoo!" Lee, Charlie, Bill, Oliver, Ron, Harry and the twins cheered.

**As they entered November, the weather turned very cold. The mountains around the school became icy gray and the lake like chilled steel. Every morning the ground was covered in frost. Hagrid could be seen from the upstairs windows defrosting broomsticks on the Quidditch field, bundled up in a long moleskin overcoat, rabbit fur gloves, and enormous beaverskin boots.**

**The Quidditch season had begun.**

"Whoo!" everyone but Hermione cheered. She just smiled and chuckled at her friends' antics.

**On Saturday, Harry would be playing in his first match after weeks of training: Gryffindor versus Slytherin.**

"Best game of the year!" Charlie yelled.

**If Gryffindor won, they would move up into second place in the house championship.**

"Woo!" Oliver and Lee cheered.

**Hardly anyone had seen Harry play because Wood had decided that, as their secret weapon, Harry should be kept, well, secret. But the news that he was playing Seeker had leaked out somehow,**

"Nothing stays secret at Hogwarts," Oliver chuckled.

"That's what they think," Harry whispered to his friends.

**and Harry didn't know which was worse — people telling him he'd be brilliant or people telling him they'd be running around underneath him holding a mattress.**

"Why would the first one be bad?" Charlie asked.

"I didn't want to let people down if I didn't do well," Harry muttered.

"Who said the thing about the mattress?" Cedric asked.

"I think it was a Slytherin," Lee said with a glare.

**It was really lucky that Harry now had Hermione as a friend. He didn't know how he'd have gotten through all his homework without her,**

"Should I be insulted?" Hermione said with a glare.

"No," Harry said slowly.

**what with all the last-minute Quidditch practice Wood was making them do. She had also lent him Quidditch Through the Ages, which turned out to be a very interesting read.**

"I've read that book," Charlie said.

"Never would have guessed," Bill said dryly.

**Harry learned that there were seven hundred ways of committing a Quidditch foul and that all of them had happened during a World Cup match in 1473;**

"Merlin, how I would have loved to see that match," Oliver sighed. Charlie nodded in agreement.

**that Seekers were usually the smallest and fastest players, and that most serious Quidditch accidents seemed to happen to them; that although people rarely died playing Quidditch, referees had been known to vanish and turn up months later in the Sahara Desert. Hermione had become a bit more relaxed about breaking rules since Harry and Ron had saved her from the mountain troll, and she was much nicer for it.**

"So I wasn't nice before?" Hermione faked a pout.

"Well, you weren't nagging us about rules so…" Harry trailed off.

"Okay, I get the point."

**The day before Harry's first Quidditch match the three of them were out in the freezing courtyard during break, and she had conjured them up a bright blue fire that could be carried around in a jam jar.**

"That's third year work," Bill gasped.

"Smartest witch of her age," Ron said, rolling his eyes.

**They were standing with their backs to it, getting warm, when Snape crossed the yard. Harry noticed at once that Snape was limping. Harry, Ron, and Hermione moved closer together to block the fire from view; they were sure it wouldn't be allowed.**

"No, it's not." Cedric shook his head. "No magic in the corridors or outside."

"Hermione is amazing," Fred gasped.

**Unfortunately, something about their guilty faces caught Snape's eye. He limped over. He hadn't seen the fire, but he seemed to be looking for a reason to tell them off anyway.**

" **What's that you've got there, Potter?"**

**It was Quidditch Through the Ages. Harry showed him.**

" **Library books are not to be taken outside the school," said Snape. "Give it to me. Five points from Gryffindor."**

"He made that rule up!" Bill yelled.

"Git!" Charlie glared at the book.

" **He's just made that rule up," Harry muttered angrily as Snape limped away. "Wonder what's wrong with his leg?"**

" **Dunno, but I hope it's really hurting him," said Ron bitterly.**

"Nice Ron!" the twins laughed.

**The Gryffindor common room was very noisy that evening. Harry, Ron, and Hermione sat together next to a window. Hermione was checking Harry and Ron's Charms homework for them. She would never let them copy ("How will you learn?"), but by asking her to read it through, they got the right answers anyway.**

"You two are lazy," Alicia sniffed.

"You are definitely our brother," the twins grinned.

**Harry felt restless. He wanted Quidditch Through the Ages back, to take his mind off his nerves about tomorrow. Why should he be afraid of Snape?**

"Cause he's a greasy git who loves to torment Gryffindors," Charlie ranted.

**Getting up, he told Ron and Hermione he was going to ask Snape if he could have it.**

" **Better you than me," they said together, but Harry had an idea that Snape wouldn't refuse if there were other teachers listening.**

"Snape's a git though," Bill said with a frown. "So that might not work."

**He made his way down to the staffroom and knocked. There was no answer. He knocked again. Nothing.**

**Perhaps Snape had left the book in there? It was worth a try. He pushed the door ajar and peered inside – and a horrible scene met his eyes.**

**Snape and Filch were inside, alone.**

"Bad images!" Oliver and Cedric cried. Katie shuddered, Bill and Charlie were covering Ron and the twins' ears, and Alicia was covering her own.

**Snape was holding his robes above his knees.**

"Harry!" Hermione said making a face. Ron was gagging at the image.

**One of his legs was bloody and mangled. Filch was handing Snape bandages.**

" **Blasted thing," Snape was saying. "How are you supposed to keep your eyes on all three heads at once?"**

"Why would he be near a three headed anything?" Charlie asked.

"Three headed dog," Ron muttered but Charlie and Bill heard him.

"How do you know this?" Bill asked.

"Umm, I might have been near it a time or two," Ron said meekly. Charlie looked ready to pass out so Cho continued to read.

**Harry tried to shut the door quietly, but —**

" **POTTER!"**

"My luck sucks," Harry muttered.

**Snape's face was twisted with fury as he dropped his robes quickly to hide his leg. Harry gulped.**

" **I just wondered if I could have my book back."**

"You truly are a Gryffindor," Angelina said with a small grin.

" **GET OUT! OUT! "**

**Harry left, before Snape could take any more points from Gryffindor. He sprinted back upstairs.**

" **Did you get it?" Ron asked as Harry joined them. "What's the matter?"**

**In a low whisper, Harry told them what he'd seen.**

"There are no secrets between the Golden Trio," Oliver said with a chuckle.

"The _what?_ " Hermione asked.

"Don't you know what the other kids call you guys?" Katie asked.

"NO!"

"Oh, well that's the nickname."

" **You know what this means?" he finished breathlessly. "He tried to get past that three-headed dog at Halloween! That's where he was going when we saw him — he's after whatever it's guarding! And I'd bet my broomstick he let that troll in, to make a diversion!"**

"I'm glad no one took that bet," Harry whispered to Ron.

**Hermione's eyes were wide.**

" **No — he wouldn't," she said. "I know he's not very nice, but he wouldn't try and steal something Dumbledore was keeping safe."**

"Merlin, was I naïve," Hermione whispered to Harry.

" **Honestly, Hermione, you think all teachers are saints or something," snapped Ron. "I'm with Harry. I wouldn't put anything past Snape. But what's he after? What's that dog guarding?"**

"That's what I want to know!" Alicia pouted.

**Harry went to bed with his head buzzing with the same question. Neville was snoring loudly, but Harry couldn't sleep. He tried to empty his mind — he needed to sleep, he had to, he had his first Quidditch match in a few hours – but the expression on Snape's face when Harry had seen his leg wasn't easy to forget.**

**The next morning dawned very bright and cold. The Great Hall was full of the delicious smell of fried sausages and the cheerful chatter of everyone looking forward to a good Quidditch match.**

"Two of my favorite things; food and Quidditch," Ron smiled.

" **You've got to eat some breakfast."**

" **I don't want anything."**

"You need to eat," Katie said with a frown.

" **Just a bit of toast," wheedled Hermione.**

"You really should eat," Charlie said. "I didn't eat before my first game and I fell off my broom. Cracked my skull, had to stay in the hospital wing for two weeks."

" **I'm not hungry."**

**Harry felt terrible. In an hour's time he'd be walking onto the field.**

" **Harry, you need your strength," said Seamus Finnigan. "Seekers are always the ones who get clobbered by the other team."**

"Remind me to hex Seamus when we get out of here," Harry said.

"We could prank him," the twins offered.

" **Thanks, Seamus," said Harry, watching Seamus pile ketchup on his sausages.**

**By eleven o'clock the whole school seemed to be out in the stands around the Quidditch pitch. Many students had binoculars. The seats might be raised high in the air, but it was still difficult to see what was going on sometimes.**

**Ron and Hermione joined Neville, Seamus, and Dean the West Ham fan up in the top row. As a surprise for Harry, they had painted a large banner on one of the sheets Scabbers had ruined.**

Ron chuckled at the mention of his rat.

**It said Potter for President, and Dean, who was good at drawing, had done a large Gryffindor lion underneath. Then Hermione had performed a tricky little charm so that the paint flashed different colors.**

"You are amazing," Cedric told the younger girl.

**Meanwhile, in the locker room, Harry and the rest of the team were changing into their scarlet Quidditch robes (Slytherin would be playing in green).**

**Wood cleared his throat for silence.**

" **Okay, men," he said.**

" **And women," said Chaser Angelina Johnson.**

" **And women," Wood agreed. "This is it."**

" **The big one," said Fred Weasley.**

" **The one we've all been waiting for," said George.**

" **We know Oliver's speech by heart," Fred told Harry, "we were on the team last year."**

"Hang on," Hermione said. "I'm confused. If the twins were on the team last year, and Charlie graduated the year before Harry's first, then wouldn't Gryffindor have only gone one year without winning the Quidditch cup?"

Everyone pondered this, and then Cho said, "You have a point."

" **Shut up, you two," said Wood. "This is the best team Gryffindor's had in years. We're going to win. I know it."**

**He glared at them all as if to say, "Or else."**

"Merlin, you're worse than I was," Charlie told the sixth year, "and I was told I was intense."

" **Right. It's time. Good luck, all of you."**

**Harry followed Fred and George out of the locker room and, hoping his knees weren't going to give way, walked onto the field to loud cheers.**

**Madam Hooch was refereeing. She stood in the middle of the field waiting for the two teams, her broom in her hand.**

" **Now, I want a nice fair game, all of you," she said, once they were all gathered around her.**

"Gryffindor and Slytherin game clean?" Charlie chuckled. "That would be like the twins not pranking."

"Not gonna happen," the twins said with grins.

**Harry noticed that she seemed to be speaking particularly to the Slytherin Captain, Marcus Flint, a sixth year. Harry thought Flint looked as if he had some troll blood in him.**

"I don't want to know," Katie said with a glare to Cedric. "What ever some pure blood families do, I don't want to know."

**Out of the corner of his eye he saw the fluttering banner high above, flashing Potter for President over the crowd. His heart skipped. He felt braver.**

"I'm glad it helped," Hermione said with a grin.

" **Mount your brooms, please."**

**Harry clambered onto his Nimbus Two Thousand.**

**Madam Hooch gave a loud blast on her silver whistle.**

**Fifteen brooms rose up, high, high into the air. They were off.**

"Let the game begin," Charlie said, lost in memories of his time at Hogwarts.

" **And the Quaffle is taken immediately by Angelina Johnson of Gryffindor — what an excellent Chaser that girl is, and rather attractive, too —"**

Angelina blushed at the commentary while Fred glared at Lee.

"What?" Lee asked. "She is!"

" **JORDAN!"**

" **Sorry, Professor."**

**The Weasley twins' friend, Lee Jordan, was doing the commentary for the match, closely watched by Professor McGonagall.**

" **And she's really belting along up there, a neat pass to Alicia Spinnet, a good find of Oliver Wood's, last year only a reserve — back to Johnson and — no, the Slytherins have taken the Quaffle, Slytherin Captain Marcus Flint gains the Quaffle and off he goes — Flint flying like an eagle up there — he's going to sc— no, stopped by an excellent move by Gryffindor Keeper Wood and the Gryffindors take the Quaffle — that's Chaser Katie Bell of Gryffindor there, nice dive around Flint, off up the field and — OUCH — that must have hurt, hit in the back of the head by a Bludger — Quaffle taken by the Slytherins — that's Adrian Pucey speeding off toward the goal posts, but he's blocked by a second Bludger — sent his way by Fred or George Weasley, can't tell which — nice play by the Gryffindor Beater, anyway, and Johnson back in possession of the Quaffle, a clear field ahead and off she goes — she's really flying — dodges a speeding Bludger — the goal posts are ahead — come on, now, Angelina — Keeper Bletchley dives — misses — GRYFFINDORS SCORE!"**

"Yes!" all the Gryffindors cheered.

**Gryffindor cheers filled the cold air, with howls and moans from the Slytherins.**

" **Budge up there, move along."**

" **Hagrid!"**

**Ron and Hermione squeezed together to give Hagrid enough space to join them.**

"Whoa, point of view change," Cedric said rubbing his head. "Confusing."

**Bin watchin' from me hut," said Hagrid, patting a large pair of binoculars around his neck, "But it isn't the same as bein' in the crowd. No sign of the Snitch yet, eh?"**

" **Nope," said Ron. "Harry hasn't had much to do yet."**

" **Kept outta trouble, though, that's somethin'," said Hagrid, raising his binoculars and peering skyward at the speck that was Harry.**

**Way up above them, Harry was gliding over the game, squinting about for some sign of the Snitch. This was part of his and Wood's game plan.**

" **Keep out of the way until you catch sight of the Snitch," Wood had said. "We don't want you attacked before you have to be."**

**When Angelina had scored, Harry had done a couple of loop-the-loops to let off his feelings. Now he was back to staring around for the Snitch. Once he caught sight of a flash of gold, but it was just a reflection from one of the Weasleys' wristwatches, and once a Bludger decided to come pelting his way, more like a cannonball than anything, but Harry dodged it and Fred Weasley came chasing after it.**

" **All right there, Harry?" he had time to yell, as he beat the Bludger furiously toward Marcus Flint.**

" **Slytherin in possession," Lee Jordan was saying, "Chaser Pucey ducks two Bludgers, two Weasleys, and Chaser Bell, and speeds toward the — wait a moment — was that the Snitch?"**

**A murmur ran through the crowd as Adrian Pucey dropped the Quaffle, too busy looking over his shoulder at the flash of gold that had passed his left ear.**

"You never let anything distract you," Charlie said with a glare.

"You're talking to a book and it's a Slytherin," Oliver told the older boy.

"So? What I said still stands."

**Harry saw it. In a great rush of excitement he dived downward after the streak of gold. Slytherin Seeker Terence Higgs had seen it, too. Neck and neck they hurtled toward the Snitch — all the Chasers seemed to have forgotten what they were supposed to be doing as they hung in midair to watch.**

**Harry was faster than Higgs — he could see the little round ball, wings fluttering, darting up ahead — he put on an extra spurt of speed —**

**WHAM! A roar of rage echoed from the Gryffindors below — Marcus Flint had blocked Harry on purpose, and Harry's broom spun off course, Harry holding on for dear life.**

"Foul!" yelled Charlie.

" **Foul!" screamed the Gryffindors.**

**Madam Hooch spoke angrily to Flint and then ordered a free shot at the goal posts for Gryffindor. But in all the confusion, of course, the Golden Snitch had disappeared from sight again.**

**Down in the stands, Dean Thomas was yelling, "Send him off, ref! Red card!"**

"A what?" Charlie asked.

"It's from soccer," Hermione explained. "A muggle sport."

" **What are you talking about, Dean?" said Ron.**

" **Red card!" said Dean furiously. "In football you get shown the red card and you're out of the game!"**

" **But this isn't football, Dean," Ron reminded him.**

**Hagrid, however, was on Dean's side.**

" **They oughta change the rules. Flint coulda knocked Harry outta the air."**

**Lee Jordan was finding it difficult not to take sides.**

" **So — after that obvious and disgusting bit of cheating —"**

"Gotta love Lee," the twins grinned. Lee grinned back at them.

" **Jordan!" growled Professor McGonagall.**

" **I mean, after that open and revolting foul…"**

" **Jordan, I'm warning you—"**

" **All right, all right. Flint nearly kills the Gryffindor Seeker, which could happen to anyone, I'm sure, so a penalty to Gryffindor, taken by Spinner, who puts it away, no trouble, and we continue play, Gryffindor still in possession."**

**It was as Harry dodged another Bludger, which went spinning dangerously past his head, that it happened. His broom gave a sudden, frightening lurch.**

"That's not good," Alicia paled. She didn't know the whole story about what had happened to Harry's broom his first match.

**For a split second, he thought he was going to fall. He gripped the broom tightly with both his hands and knees. He'd never felt anything like that.**

**It happened again. It was as though the broom was trying to buck him off.**

"Get to the ground!" Charlie yelled.

**But Nimbus Two Thousands did not suddenly decide to buck their riders off. Harry tried to turn back toward the Gryffindor goal-posts — he had half a mind to ask Wood to call time-out — and then he realized that his broom was completely out of his control. He couldn't turn it. He couldn't direct it at all. It was zigzagging through the air, and every now and then making violent swishing movements that almost unseated him.**

**Lee was still commentating.**

" **Slytherin in possession — Flint with the Quaffle — passes Spinnet — passes Bell — hit hard in the face by a Bludger, hope it broke his nose — only joking, Professor — Slytherins score — A no…"**

**The Slytherins were cheering. No one seemed to have noticed that Harry's broom was behaving strangely. It was carrying him slowly higher, away from the game, jerking and twitching as it went.**

" **Dunno what Harry thinks he's doing," Hagrid mumbled. He stared through his binoculars. "If I didn' know better, I'd say he'd lost control of his broom… but he can't have…"**

**Suddenly, people were pointing up at Harry all over the stands. His broom had started to roll over and over, with him only just managing to hold on. Then the whole crowd gasped. Harry's broom had given a wild jerk and Harry swung off it.**

"NO!" Cedric, Cho and Charlie cried.

**He was now dangling from it, holding on with only one hand.**

" **Did something happen to it when Flint blocked him?" Seamus whispered.**

" **Can't have," Hagrid said, his voice shaking. "Can't nothing interfere with a broomstick except powerful Dark magic — no kid could do that to a Nimbus Two Thousand."**

**At these words, Hermione seized Hagrid's binoculars, but instead of looking up at Harry, she started looking frantically at the crowd.**

" **What are you doing?" moaned Ron, gray-faced.**

" **I knew it," Hermione gasped, "Snape — look."**

"What's that git doing?" Katie asked.

**Ron grabbed the binoculars. Snape was in the middle of the stands opposite them. He had his eyes fixed on Harry and was muttering nonstop under his breath.**

"I can't believe it!" Oliver cried. "He's jinxing your broom!"

"So we're not the only ones who jump to suspicions," Harry whispered to Ron.

" **He's doing something — jinxing the broom," said Hermione.**

" **What should we do?"**

" **Leave it to me."**

**Before Ron could say another word, Hermione had disappeared. Ron turned the binoculars back on Harry. His broom was vibrating so hard, it was almost impossible for him to hang on much longer. The whole crowd was on its feet, watching, terrified, as the Weasleys flew up to try and pull Harry safely onto one of their brooms, but it was no good – every time they got near him, the broom would jump higher still. They dropped lower and circled beneath him, obviously hoping to catch him if he fell.**

"Thanks guys," Harry told the twins.

"I think Ron and Oliver would have both killed us if we let you fall," Fred tried to pass it off as a joke, but everyone could still see he was worried.

**Marcus Flint seized the Quaffle and scored five times without anyone noticing.**

"Bastard" Charlie muttered.

" **Come on, Hermione," Ron muttered desperately.**

**Hermione had fought her way across to the stand where Snape stood, and was now racing along the row behind him; she didn't even stop to say sorry as she knocked Professor Quirrell headfirst into the row in front.**

Hermione paled. She hit Voldemort in the face. She hadn't realized that until now.

**Reaching Snape, she crouched down, pulled out her wand, and whispered a few, well-chosen words. Bright blue flames shot from her wand onto the hem of Snape's robes.**

"WE'RE NOT WORTHY!" Fred and George cried and began bowing to Hermione, who looked a little uncomfortable.

**It took perhaps thirty seconds for Snape to realize that he was on fire. A sudden yelp told her she had done her job. Scooping the fire off him into a little jar in her pocket, she scrambled back along the row — Snape would never know what had happened.**

" _I_ never knew that happened," Fred said with a sulk. The twins had gotten up off the floor and were wearing identical frowns.

"Then Hermione is just that good," Angelina said with a chuckle.

**It was enough. Up in the air, Harry was suddenly able to clamber back on to his broom.**

" **Neville, you can look!" Ron said. Neville had been sobbing into Hagrid's jacket for the last five minutes.**

"I do like this Neville," Charlie said with a grin. "Reminds me of Tonks."

"Who?" Ron asked.

"Nymphadora Tonks, though she goes by her last name. Hufflepuff, and one of my best mates." Charlie explained.

**Harry was speeding toward the ground when the crowd saw him clap his hand to his mouth as though he was about to be sick — he hit the field on all fours — coughed — and something gold fell into his hand.**

"You caught the snitch in your mouth?" Charlie asked, dumbstruck.

"Yep." Harry said. Cedric and Cho were wearing the same dumbstruck looks on their faces.

" **I've got the Snitch!" he shouted, waving it above his head, and the game ended in complete confusion.**

" **He didn't catch it, he nearly swallowed it," Flint was still howling twenty minutes later, but it made no difference — Harry hadn't broken any rules and Lee Jordan was still happily shouting the results — Gryffindor had won by one hundred and seventy points to sixty. Harry heard none of this, though.**

"Why aren't you celebrating?" Charlie asked the bespectled boy.

"I had more pressing matters, like wondering who just tried to _kill_ me."

"Oh."

**He was being made a cup of strong tea back in Hagrid's hut, with Ron and Hermione.**

" **It was Snape," Ron was explaining, "Hermione and I saw him. He was cursing your broomstick, muttering, he wouldn't take his eyes off you."**

"A professor, even if it is Snape," Cedric said, "would never try to kill a student."

"That's what they think," Harry whispered to Ron.

" **Rubbish," said Hagrid, who hadn't heard a word of what had gone on next to him in the stands. "Why would Snape do somethin' like that?"**

**Harry, Ron, and Hermione looked at one another, wondering what to tell him. Harry decided on the truth.**

" **I found out something about him," he told Hagrid. "He tried to get past that three-headed dog on Halloween. It bit him. We think he was trying to steal whatever it's guarding."**

**Hagrid dropped the teapot.**

" **How do you know about Fluffy?" he said.**

"Fluffy?" Everyone except for the trio asked.

"Hagrid," Charlie chuckled. "Has to be his."

" **Fluffy?"**

" **Yeah — he's mine — bought him off a Greek chappie I met in the pub las' year — I lent him to Dumbledore to guard the —"**

" **Yes?" said Harry eagerly.**

" **Now, don't ask me anymore," said Hagrid gruffly. "That's top secret, that is."**

" **But Snape's trying to steal it."**

" **Rubbish," said Hagrid again. "Snape's a Hogwarts teacher, he'd do nothin' of the sort."**

" **So why did he just try and kill Harry?" cried Hermione.**

**The afternoon's events certainly seemed to have changed her mind about Snape.**

" **I know a jinx when I see one, Hagrid, I've read all about them! You've got to keep eye contact, and Snape wasn't blinking at all, I saw**

"The same is true for counter-jinxes though," Oliver said reluctantly.

" **I'm tellin' yeh, yer wrong!" said Hagrid hotly. "I don' know why Harry's broom acted like that, but Snape wouldn' try an' kill a student! Now, listen to me, all three of yeh — yer meddlin' in things that don' concern yeh. It's dangerous. You forget that dog, an' you forget what it's guardin', that's between Professor Dumbledore an' Nicolas Flamel —"**

"Why did he say that?" Angelina asked. "Now they'll be even more curious."

"I didn't learn about Flamel until fourth year though," Charlie said. "Three first years won't be able to figure it out."

No one noticed the smirks on Harry, Ron and Hermione's faces.

" **Aha!" said Harry, "so there's someone called Nicolas Flamel involved, is there?"**

**Hagrid looked furious with himself.**

"That's it," Cho said and suddenly there was a flash of light. When it cleared, Neville and Percy were standing in the locker room.

"I was just given this note," Neville said softly upon seeing all the eyes on him.

"Me too," Percy said.

"Well come on and join the party." Bill said. "Charlie's reading next."

"The next chapter is called The Mirror of Erised." Charlie said.


	12. Chapter 12

" **The Mirror Of Erised"** Charlie read.

**Christmas was coming. One morning in mid-December, Hogwarts woke to find itself covered in several feet of snow. .**

"How can a castle wake?" Oliver asked.

"I think the author means that the people inside woke up to find the snow," Cho told him.

**The lake froze solid and the Weasley twins were punished for bewitching several snowballs so that they followed Quirrell around, bouncing off the back of his turban**

The twins turned and glared at Percy.

"It was actually a Ravenclaw Prefect who reported it," Cho said softly.

Harry nudged Ron and whispered "First Hermione, now the twins. We need to find a way to hit Voldemort in the face too."

"We'd get killed, mate."

"So?"

**The few owls that managed to battle their way through the stormy sky to deliver mail had to be nursed back to health by Hagrid before they could fly off again. No one could wait for the holidays to start. While the Gryffindor common room and the Great Hall had roaring fires, the drafty corridors had become icy and a bitter wind rattled the windows in the classrooms. Worst of all were Professor Snape's classes down in the dungeons, where their breath rose in a mist before them and they kept as close as possible to their hot cauldrons.**

" **I do feel so sorry," said Draco Malfoy, one Potions class, "for all those people who have to stay at Hogwarts for Christmas because they're not wanted at home."**

"Evil git!" Oliver glared.

"Gred, I think prank number 302 is in order for that git."

"The one that turns the subject into a ferret?"

"The very same."

**He was looking over at Harry as he spoke. Crabbe and Goyle chuckled. Harry, who was measuring out powdered spine of lionfish, ignored them. Malfoy had been even more unpleasant t** **han usual since the Quidditch match.**

**Disgusted that the Slytherins had lost, he had tried to get everyone laughing at how a wide-mouthed tree frog would be replacing Harry as Seeker next. Then he'd realized that nobody found this funny, because they were all so impressed at the way Harry had managed to stay on his bucking broomstick. So Malfoy, jealous and angry, had gone back to taunting Harry about having no proper family.**

"Git!"

"Are you going to do that every time Malfoy's mentioned?" Hermione asked Ron.

"Yes."

**It was true that Harry wasn't going back to Privet Drive for Christmas. Professor McGonagall had come around the week before, making a list of students who would be staying for the holidays, and Harry had signed up at once. He didn't feel sorry for himself at all; this would probably be the best Christmas he'd ever had. Ron and his brothers were staying, too, because Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were going to Romania to visit Charlie.**

"Whoo!" Charlie cheered when he was mentioned.

**When they left the dungeons at the end of Potions, they found a large fir tree blocking the corridor ahead. Two enormous feet sticking out at the bottom and a loud puffing sound told them that Hagrid was behind it.**

" **Hi, Hagrid, want any help?" Ron asked, sticking his head through the branches.**

"Aww," the girls—except for Hermione—cooed. Ron flushed.

" **Nah, I'm all right, thanks, Ron."**

" **Would you mind moving out of the way?" came Malfoy's cold drawl from behind them. "Are you trying to earn some extra money, Weasley? Hoping to be gamekeeper yourself when you leave Hogwarts, I suppose — that hut of Hagrid's must seem like a palace compared to what your family's used to."**

"Git!" Bill steamed. Percy's eyes seemed to glint with the same troublemaking gleam the twins' had, but Harry had to be mistaken.

"Prank 101, Gred?"

"Along with the ferret one?"

"Yep."

**Ron dived at Malfoy just as Snape came up the stairs.**

" **WEASLEY!"**

"Yes?" All the Weasley boys asked.

**Ron let go of the front of Malfoy's robes.**

" **He was provoked, Professor Snape," said Hagrid, sticking his huge hairy face out from behind the tree. "Malfoy was insultin' his family."**

" **Be that as it may, fighting is against Hogwarts rules, Hagrid," said Snape silkily. "Five points from Gryffindor, Weasley, and be grateful it isn't more. Move along, all of you."**

"Evil git," Bill and Charlie muttered.

**Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle pushed roughly past the tree, scattering needles everywhere and smirking.**

" **I'll get him," said Ron, grinding his teeth at Malfoy's back, "one of these days, I'll get him —"**

" **I hate them both," said Harry, "Malfoy and Snape."**

"Who doesn't?" the twins asked.

"I think Malfoy likes Snape and vice versa," Hermione said with a chuckle.

" **Come on, cheer up, it's nearly Christmas," said Hagrid. "Tell yeh what, come with me an' see the Great Hall, looks a treat."**

**So the three of them followed Hagrid and his tree off to the Great Hall, where Professor McGonagall and Professor Flitwick were busy with the Christmas decorations.**

" **Ah, Hagrid, the last tree — put it in the far corner, would you?"**

**The hall looked spectacular. Festoons of holly and mistletoe hung all around the walls, and no less than twelve towering Christmas trees stood around the room, some sparkling with tiny icicles, some glittering with hundreds of candles.**

"I love Hogwarts at Christmas," Alicia sighed.

"I just love Hogwarts," Harry said with a grin.

" **How many days you got left until yer holidays?" Hagrid asked.**

" **Just one," said Hermione. "And that reminds me — Harry, Ron, we've got half an hour before lunch, we should be in the library."**

"No!" the twins moaned. Percy and Cho beamed.

" **Oh yeah, you're right," said Ron, tearing his eyes away from Professor Flitwick, who had golden bubbles blossoming out of his wand and was trailing them over the branches of the new tree.**

" **The library?" said Hagrid, following them out of the hall. "Just before the holidays? Bit keen, aren't yeh?"**

" **Oh, we're not working," Harry told him brightly. "Ever since you mentioned Nicolas Flamel we've been trying to find out who he is."**

"Oh, well that's better." Fred sighed.

" **You what?" Hagrid looked shocked. "Listen here — I've told yeh — drop it. It's nothin' to you what that dog's guardin'."**

"I think that's not going to deter them," Katie said shaking her head.

" **We just want to know who Nicolas Flamel is, that's all," said Hermione.**

" **Unless you'd like to tell us and save us the trouble?" Harry added. "We must've been through hundreds of books already and we can't find him anywhere — just give us a hint — I know I've read his name somewhere."**

"Now, I'm curious," Bill moaned.

" **I'm sayin' nothin', said Hagrid flatly.**

"And by saying that," Percy said with a chuckle, "you're saying something."

"Did Percy just make a joke?" Fred gasped. "I haven't heard you joke since you were eight!"

" **Just have to find out for ourselves, then," said Ron, and they left Hagrid looking disgruntled and hurried off to the library.**

**They had indeed been searching books for Flamel's name ever since Hagrid had let it slip, because how else were they going to find out what Snape was trying to steal?**

"Why didn't we just eat chocolate frogs?" Ron whispered to Harry.

"Because we were stupid first years with bad memories," Harry whispered back.

**The trouble was, it was very hard to know where to begin, not knowing what Flamel might have done to get himself into a book. He wasn't in Great Wizards of the Twentieth Century, or Notable Magical Names of Our Time; he was missing, too, from Important Modern Magical Discoveries, and A Study of Recent Developments in Wizardry.**

"He's not that recent." Angelina chuckled. "If he was, I would have heard of him."

**And then, of course, there was the sheer size of the library; tens of thousands of books; thousands of shelves; hundreds of narrow rows.**

**Hermione took out a list of subjects and titles she had decided to search while Ron strode off down a row of books and started pulling them off the shelves at random. Harry wandered over to the Restricted Section. He had been wondering for a while if Flamel wasn't somewhere in there.**

"He's not," Charlie shook his head.

"Ron, if we'd just asked your brother…" Harry moaned in a whisper.

"I know mate. I know."

**Unfortunately, you needed a specially signed note from one of the teachers to look in any of the restricted books, and he knew he'd never get one. These were the books containing powerful Dark Magic never taught at Hogwarts, and only read by older students studying advanced Defense Against the Dark Arts.**

" **What are you looking for, boy?"**

"A clue?" Cho asked.

"My broom?" Oliver suggested.

"My sanity?" Harry muttered

" **Nothing," said Harry.**

**Madam Pince the librarian brandished a feather duster at him.**

" **You'd better get out, then. Go on — out!"**

**Wishing he'd been a bit quicker at thinking up some story, Harry left the library. He, Ron, and Hermione had already agreed they'd better not ask Madam Pince where they could find Flamel. They were sure she'd be able to tell them, but they couldn't risk Snape hearing what they were up to.**

**Harry waited outside in the corridor to see if the other two had found anything, but he wasn't very hopeful. They had been looking for two weeks, after A, but as they only had odd moments between lessons it wasn't surprising they'd found nothing. What they really needed was a nice long search without Madam Pince breathing down their necks.**

"Nice dream mate," Charlie said shaking his head, "but it'll never happen."

Harry and Ron exchanged smirks.

**Five minutes later, Ron and Hermione joined him, shaking their heads. They went off to lunch.**

" **You will keep looking while I'm away, won't you?" said Hermione. "And send me an owl if you find anything."**

" **And you could ask your parents if they know who Flamel is," said Ron. "It'd be safe to ask them."**

" **Very safe, as they're both dentists," said Hermione.**

"Dentists?" All the purebloods asked.

"They work on people's teeth," Hermione said and then turned to Ron. "You _knew_ I was muggle born."

"I forgot," Ron muttered.

**Once the holidays had started, Ron and Harry were having too good a time to think much about Flamel. They had the dormitory to themselves and the common room was far emptier than usual, so they were able to get the good armchairs by the fire. They sat by the hour eating anything they could spear on a toasting fork—bread, English muffins, marshmallows—and plotting ways of getting Malfoy expelled, which were fun to talk about even if they wouldn't work.**

"I liked those plans," Ron sighed.

"Tell us about them later," the twins said with a grin, "we might be able to tweak them for you."

"As a prefect, I should report this," Percy said, "but I want to continue with the reading so I'll not."

"Also you can't get out of this room," Katie told him.

**Ron also started teaching Harry wizard chess. This was exactly like Muggle chess except that the figures were alive,**

"And you stink," Ron said with a smirk.

"Maybe you're just too good," Harry shot back.

**which made it a lot like directing troops in battle. Ron's set was very old and battered. Like everything else he owned, it had once belonged to someone else in his family—in this case, his grandfather. However, old chessmen weren't a drawback at all. Ron knew them so well he never had trouble getting them to do what he wanted.**

**Harry played with chessmen Seamus Finnigan had lent him, and they didn't trust him at all. He wasn't a very good player yet and they kept shouting different bits of advice at him, which was confusing. "Don't send me there, can't you see his knight? Send** _**him** _ **, we can afford to lose** _**him** _ **."**

**On Christmas Eve, Harry went to bed looking forward to the next day for the food and the fun, but not expecting any presents at all.**

Cedric, Cho and Oliver glared at the book. All around them, people were making mental notes on what Harry liked. He was going to get a big bunch of stuff this year.

**When he woke early in the morning, however, the first thing he saw was a small pile of packages at the foot of his bed.**

" **Merry Christmas," said Ron sleepily as Harry scrambled out of bed and pulled on his bathrobe.**

" **You, too," said Harry. "Will you look at this? I've got some presents!"**

" **What did you expect, turnips?" said Ron, turning to his own pile, which was a lot bigger than Harry's.**

"Insensitive wart," Hermione huffed.

"I didn't expect _any_ presents," Harry muttered.

**Harry picked up the top parcel. It was wrapped in thick brown paper and scrawled across it was To Harry, from Hagrid. Inside was a roughly cut wooden flute. Hagrid had obviously whittled it himself. Harry blew it—it sounded a bit like an owl.**

"Hagrid gave us the means to get past Fluffy," Hermione whispered to Harry and he nodded.

**A second, very small parcel contained a note.**

_**We received your message and enclose your Christmas present. From Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia.** _

**Taped to the note was a fifty-pence piece.**

"That was friendly," Hermione smiled.

" **That's friendly," said Harry.**

**Ron was fascinated by the fifty pence.**

" _ **Weird!**_ **" he said, "What a shape! This is** _ **money**_ **?"**

"You were acting like your dad," Harry chuckled and Ron flushed.

" **You can keep it," said Harry, laughing at how pleased Ron was. "Hagrid and my aunt and uncle—so who sent these?"**

" **I think I know who that one's from," said Ron, turning a bit pink and pointing to a very lumpy parcel. "My mom. I told her you didn't expect any presents and—oh, no," he groaned, "she's made you a Weasley sweater."**

"What's wrong with them?" Bill asked his youngest brother. Ron just shrugged, and made sure not to look anywhere but at his brothers.

 **Harry had torn open the parcel to find a thick, hand-knitted sweater in emerald green and a large box of homemade fudge.**.

" **Every year she makes us a sweater," said Ron, unwrapping his own, "and mine's** _ **always**_ **maroon."**

" **That's really nice of her," said Harry, trying the fudge, which was very tasty.**

**His next present also contained candy—a large box of Chocolate Frogs from Hermione.'**

"My parents wanted to send you books," Hermione said, "and sugar free candy."

"Yuck," Harry said and everyone else made a face.

**This only left one parcel. Harry picked it up and felt it. It was very light. He unwrapped it.**

"Ooh, what is it?" Alicia asked.

**Something fluid and silvery gray went slithering to the floor where it lay in gleaming folds.**

**Ron gasped.**

" **I've heard of those," he said in a hushed voice, dropping the box of Every Flavor Beans he'd gotten from Hermione. "If that's what I think it is—they're really rare, and** _ **really**_ **valuable."**

" **What is it?"**

**Harry picked the shining silvery cloth off the floor. It was strange to the touch, like water woven into material.**

" **It's an Invisibility Cloak," said Ron, a look of awe on his face. "I'm sure it is—try it on."**

"Can we borrow that sometime?" George asked, and Fred nodded. Bill and Charlie groaned. The twins would be unstoppable if they got their hands on that.

"Do I look that stupid to you?" Harry asked with a chuckle. "I like Hogwarts to remain standing."

The twins pouted.

**Harry threw the cloak around his shoulders and Ron gave a yell.**

" **It** _ **is**_ **! Look down!"**

"How excited could one be?" Charlie asked.

**Harry looked down at his feet, but they were gone. He dashed to the mirror. Sure enough, his reflection looked back at him, just his head suspended in midair, his body completely invisible.**

**He pulled the cloak over his head and his reflection vanished completely.**

" **There's a note!" said Ron suddenly. "A note fell out of it!"**

**Harry pulled off the cloak and seized the letter. Written in narrow, loopy writing he had never seen before were the following words:**

_**Your father left this in my possession before he died.** _

_**It is time it was returned to you.** _

_**Use it well.** _

**There was no signature. Harry stared at the note. Ron was admiring the cloak.**

" **I'd give** _ **anything**_ **for one of these," he said. "** _ **Anything**_ **. What's the matter?"**

"Anything?" Bill asked raising an eyebrow.

"Maybe not anything," Ron chuckled. Lee was busying gaping at the book.

" **Nothing," said Harry. He felt very strange. Who had sent the cloak? Had it really once belonged to his father?**

**Before he could say or think anything else, the dormitory door was flung open and Fred and George Weasley bounded in. Harry stuffed the cloak quickly out of sight. He didn't feel like sharing it with anyone else yet.**

" **Merry Christmas!"**

" **Hey, look—Harry's got a Weasley sweater, too!"**

**Fred and George were wearing blue sweaters, one with a large yellow F on it, the other a G.**

"You're wearing the wrong sweater aren't you?" Hermione asked.

" **Harry's is better than ours, though," said Fred, holding up Harry's sweater. "She obviously makes more of an effort if you're not family."**

" **Why aren't you wearing yours, Ron?" George demanded. "Come on, get it on, they're lovely and warm."**

" **I hate maroon," Ron moaned halfheartedly as he pulled it over his head.**

" **You haven't got a letter on yours," George observed. "I suppose she thinks you don't forget your name. But we're not stupid—we know we're called Gred and Forge."**

" **What's all this noise?"**

**Percy Weasley stuck his head through the door, looking disapproving.**

"I was trying to read," Percy said after the twins sent him a couple of glares. "I'd had a hard time sleeping the previous night, so I wanted to relax a bit."

"Sorry Perc," Fred said sheepishly.

**He had clearly gotten halfway through unwrapping his presents as he, too, carried a lumpy sweater over his arm, which Fred seized.**

" **P for prefect! Get it on, Percy, come on, we're all wearing ours, even Harry got one."**

" **I—don't—want—" said Percy thickly, as the twins forced the sweater over his head, knocking his glasses askew.**

" **And you're not sitting with the prefects today, either," said George. "Christmas is a time for family."**

**They frog-marched Percy from the room, his arms pinned to his side by his sweater.**

"I was planning on sitting by you guys anyway," Percy said. "All the prefects sat with their families."

**Harry had never in all his life had such a Christmas dinner. A hundred fat, roast turkeys; mountains of roast and boiled potatoes; platters of chipolatas; tureens of buttered peas, silver boats of thick, rich gravy and cranberry sauce – and stacks of wizard crackers every few feet along the table. These fantastic party favors were nothing like the feeble Muggle ones the Dursleys usually bought, with their little plastic toys and their flimsy paper hats inside. Harry pulled a wizard cracker with Fred and it didn't just bang, it went off with a blast like a cannon and engulfed them all in a cloud of blue smoke, while from the inside exploded a rear admiral's hat and several live, white mice. Up at the High Table, Dumbledore had swapped his pointed wizard's hat for a flowered bonnet, and was chuckling merrily at a joke Professor Flitwick had just read him.**

"Dumbledore rocks," Cedric chuckled.

"He is pretty cool," Fred agreed.

**Flaming Christmas puddings followed the turkey. Percy nearly broke his teeth on a silver sickle embedded in his slice. Harry watched Hagrid getting redder and redder in the face as he called for more wine, finally kissing Professor McGonagall on the cheek, who, to Harry's amazement, giggled and blushed, her top hat lopsided.**

"McGonagall was drunk?" the twins and Lee asked.

"Yeah," Harry smirked.

**When Harry finally left the table, he was laden down with a stack of things out of the crackers, including a pack of non-explodable, luminous balloons, a Grow-Your-Own-Warts kit, and his own new wizard chess set. The white mice had disappeared and Harry had a nasty feeling they were going to end up as Mrs. Norris's Christmas dinner.**

"They probably did," Cho chuckled.

**Harry and the Weasleys spent a happy afternoon having a furious snowball fight on the grounds. Then, cold, wet, and gasping for breath, they returned to the fire in the Gryffindor common room, where Harry broke in his new chess set by losing spectacularly to Ron. He suspected he wouldn't have lost so badly if Percy hadn't tried to help him so much.**

"Hey!" Percy cried.

"Perc, you suck at chess and Harry was playing _Ron,"_ Bill said shaking his head. "Did you think you were going to win?"

**After a meal of turkey sandwiches, crumpets, trifle, and Christmas cake,**

"Stop describing food," Charlie and Ron moaned.

**everyone felt too full and sleepy to do much before bed except sit and watch Percy chase Fred and George all over Gryffindor tower because they'd stolen his prefect badge.**

**It had been Harry's best Christmas day ever. Yet something had been nagging at the back of his mind all day. Not until he climbed into bed was he free to think about it: the Invisibility Cloak and whoever had sent it.**

**Ron, full of turkey and cake and with nothing mysterious to bother him, fell asleep almost as soon as he'd drawn the curtains of his four-poster. Harry leaned over the side of his own bed and pulled the cloak out from under it.**

**His father's…this had been his father's. He let the material flow over his hands, smoother than silk, light as air.** _**Use it well** _ **, the note had said.**

"What happens?" Fred asked, almost bouncing in his seat.

**Suddenly, Harry felt wide-awake. The whole of Hogwarts was open to him in this cloak. Excitement flooded through him as he stood there in the dark and silence. He could go anywhere in this, anywhere, and Filch would never know.**

**Ron grunted in his sleep. Should Harry wake him? Something held him back — his father's cloak — he felt that this time — the first time — he wanted to use it alone.**

"I understand mate," Ron said softly.

**He crept out of the dormitory, down the stairs, across the common room, and climbed through the portrait hole.**

" **Who's there?" squawked the Fat Lady.**

**Harry said nothing. He walked quickly down the corridor.**

**Where should he go? He stopped, his heart racing, and thought. And then it came to him. The Restricted Section in the library. He'd be able to read as long as he liked, as long as it took to find out who Flamel was. He set off, drawing the Invisibility Cloak tight around him as he walked.**

**The library**

"Oh, what a rebel," the twins grinned.

**was pitch-black and very eerie. Harry lit a lamp to see his way along the rows of books. The lamp looked as if it was floating along in midair, and even though Harry could feel his arm supporting it, the sight gave him the creeps.**

**The Restricted Section was right at the back of the library. Stepping carefully over the rope that separated these books from the rest of the library, he held up his lamp to read the titles.**

**They didn't tell him much. Their peeling, faded gold letters spelled words in languages Harry couldn't understand. Some had no title at all. One book had a dark stain on it that looked horribly like blood. The hairs on the back of Harry's neck prickled. Maybe he was imagining it, maybe not, but he though a faint whispering was coming from the books, as though they knew someone was there who shouldn't be.**

**He had to start somewhere. Setting the lamp down carefully on the floor, he looked along the bottom shelf for an interesting-looking book. A large black and silver volume caught his eye. He pulled it out with difficulty, because it was very heavy, and, balancing it on his knee, let it fall open.**

"This isn't going to end well," Bill predicted.

**A piercing, bloodcurdling shriek split the silence—the book was screaming!**

"Bad luck mate," Fred winced.

**Harry snapped it shut, but the shriek went on and on, one high, unbroken, earsplitting note. He stumbled backward and knocked over his lamp, which went out at once. Panicking, he heard footsteps coming down the corridor outside—stuffing the shrieking book back on the shelf, he ran for it. He passed Filch in the doorway; Filch's pale, wild eyes looked straight through him, and Harry slipped under Filch's outstretched arm and streaked off up the corridor, the book's shrieks still ringing in his ears.**

**He came to a sudden halt in front of a tall suit of armor. He had been so busy getting away from the library, he hadn't paid attention to where he was going. Perhaps because it was dark, he didn't recognize where he was at all. There was a suit of armor near the kitchens, he knew, but he must be five floors above there.**

" **You asked me to come directly to you, Professor, if anyone was wandering around at night, and somebody's been in the library—Restricted Section."**

"Your luck sucks," Angelina told Harry.

**Harry felt the blood drain out of his face. Wherever he was, Filch must know a shortcut, because his soft, greasy voice was getting nearer, and to his horror, it was Snape who replied, "The Restricted Section? Well, they can't be far, we'll catch them."**

**Harry stood rooted to the spot as Filch and Snape came around the corner ahead.**

"RUN!" Bill and Charlie yelled.

"Don't run!" Oliver said. He remembered the last time Harry took a nighttime stroll all too well.

**They couldn't see him, of course, but it was a narrow corridor and if they came much nearer they'd knock right into him—the cloak didn't stop him from being solid.**

**He backed away as quietly as he could. A door stood ajar to his left. It was his only hope. He squeezed through it, holding his breath, trying not to move it, and to his relief he managed to get inside the room without their noticing anything. They walked straight past, and Harry leaned against the wall, breathing deeply, listening to their footsteps dying away. That had been close, very close. It was a few seconds before he noticed anything about the room he had hidden in.**

"Can we skip this part?" Harry muttered.

"Why?" Katie asked. "What's wrong with it?"

"You'll see," Ron answered for his friend.

**It looked like an unused classroom. The dark shapes of desks and chairs were piled against the walls, and there was an upturned wastepaper basket—but propped against the wall facing him was something that didn't look as if it belonged there, something that looked as if someone had just put it there to keep it out of the way.**

**It was a magnificent mirror, as high as the ceiling, with an ornate gold frame, standing on two clawed feet. There was an inscription carved around the top:** _**Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi.** _

"What does that mean?" Cedric asked.

"I show not your face but your hearts desire," Hermione said after a few minutes. Harry tried to make himself invisible (he didn't have his cloak with him).

**His panic fading now that there was no sound of Filch and Snape, Harry moved nearer to the mirror, wanting to look at himself but see no reflection again. He stepped in front of it.**

**He had to clap his hands to his mouth to stop himself from screaming. He whirled around. His heart was pounding far more furiously than when the book had screamed—for he had seen not only himself in the mirror, but a whole crowd of people standing right behind him.**

"How?" Katie asked, but Harry just motioned for Charlie to continue. He didn't want to linger on this chapter longer than he had to.

 **But the room was empty. Breathing very fast, he turned slowly back to the mirror**.

"What's going on?" Alicia asked.

**There he was, reflected in it, white and scared-looking, and there, reflected behind him, were at least ten others. Harry looked over his shoulder—but still, no one was there. Or were they all invisible, too? Was he in fact in a room full of invisible people and this mirror's trick was that it reflected them, invisible or not?**

"I'm confused," Percy said.

"I think we'll find out if you'd let me continue," Charlie chuckled.

**He looked in the mirror again. A woman standing right behind his reflection was smiling at him and waving. He reached out a hand and felt the air behind him. If she was really there, he'd touch her, their reflections were so close together, but he felt only air—she and the others existed only in the mirror.**

**She was a very pretty woman. She had dark red hair and her eyes—** _**her eyes are just like mine** _

"Oh, Harry," Cho gasped.

**Harry thought, edging a little closer to the glass. Bright green—exactly the same shape, but then he noticed that she was crying; smiling, but crying at the same time. The tall, thin, black-haired man standing next to her put his arm around her. He wore glasses, and his hair was very untidy. It stuck up at the back, just as Harry's did.**

"So there'd be no way to flatten it either?" the twins asked, trying to lighten the mood. Neville shot Harry a smile. He knew what it was like to see your parents and have them not be able to respond.

**Harry was so close to the mirror now that his nose was nearly touching that of his reflection.**

" **Mom?" he whispered. "Dad?"**

Hermione glanced at Harry, and could see his mouth was tight and his eyes almost seemed misty.

"Mate," Ron said hesitantly but Harry just motioned for Charlie to continue.

 **They just looked at him, smiling. And slowly, Harry looked into the faces of the other people in the mirror, and saw other pairs of green eyes like his, other noses like his, even a little old man who looked as though he had Harry's knobbly knees—Harry was looking at his family, for the first time in his life.** **The Potters smiled and waved at Harry and he stared hungrily back at them, his hands pressed flat against the glass as though he was hoping to fall right through it and reach them. He had a powerful kind of ache inside him, half joy, half terrible sadness.**

"Harry," Angelina whispered. Alicia and Katie were wiping tears from their eyes, and Hermione wrapped an arm around her friend.

 **How long he stood there, he didn't know. The reflections did not fade and he looked and looked until a distant noise brought him back to his senses. He couldn't stay here, he had to find his way back to bed. He tore his eyes away from his mother's face, whispered, "I'll come back," and hurried from the room**.

"I don't think you should," Cedric said with a frown.

"This already happened," Harry said.

" **You could have woken me up," said Ron, crossly.**

" **You can come tonight, I'm going back, I want to show you the mirror."**

" **I'd like to see your mom and dad," Ron said eagerly.**

" **And I want to see all your family, all the Weasleys, you'll be able to show me your other brothers and everyone."**

" **You can see them any old time," said Ron. "Just come round my house this summer. Anyway, maybe it only shows dead people. Shame about not finding Flamel, though. Have some bacon or something, why aren't you eating anything?"**

**Harry couldn't eat. He had seen his parents and would be seeing them again tonight. He had almost forgotten about Flamel. It didn't seem very important anymore. Who cared what the three-headed dog was guarding? What did it matter if Snape stole it, really?.**

"This mirror's not good for you," Cho frowned. "Don't go looking for it again."

" **Are you all right?" said Ron. "You look odd."**

**What Harry feared most was that he might not be able to find the mirror room again. With Ron covered in the cloak, too, they had to walk much more slowly the next night. They tried retracing Harry's route from the library, wandering around the dark passageways for nearly an hour.**

" **I'm freezing." Said Ron. "Let's forget it and go back."**

" _ **No!**_ **" Harry hissed. "I know it's here somewhere."**

"I think you're insane," Fred forced a chuckle.

 **They passed the ghost of a tall witch gliding in the opposite direction, but saw no one else. Just as Ron started moaning that his feet were dead with cold, Harry spotted the suit of armor**.

" **It's here—just here—yes!"**

**They pushed the door open. Harry dropped the cloak from around his shoulders and ran to the mirror.**

**There they were. His mother and father beamed at the sight of him.**

" **See?" Harry whispered.**

" **I can't see anything."**

" **Look! Look at them all…there are loads of them…."**

" **I can only see you."**

" **Look in it properly, go on, stand where I am."**

**Harry stepped aside, but with Ron in front of the mirror, he couldn't see his family anymore, just Ron in his paisley pajamas.**

**Ron, though, was staring transfixed at his image.**

" **Look at me!" he said.**

" **Can you see all your family standing around you?"**

" **No—I'm alone—but I'm different—I look older—and I'm Head Boy!"**

"What?" Charlie and Bill said. Percy looked at Ron and the twins just shook their heads.

"Head boy?" Bill mouthed. Not once had he known any one of his family members—except for Percy of course—to aspire to be like him.

" _ **What?**_ **"**

" **I am—I'm wearing the badge like Bill used to—and I'm holding the House Cup and the Quidditch cup—I'm Quidditch captain, too!"**

"Well, at least _someone_ wants to take after me," Charlie smiled at his youngest brother, but if one looked closely they would be able to tell that it was a fixed smile.

**Ron tore his eyes away from this splendid sight to look excitedly at Harry.**

" **Do you think this mirror shows the future?"**

" **How can it? All my family are dead—let me have another look— "**

" **You had it all to yourself last night, give me a bit more time."**

" **You're only holding the Quidditch cup, what's interesting about that? I want to see my parents."**

" **Don't push me—"**

"That mirror's causing you two to fight," Bill frowned.

"Stay away from it," Percy said.

**A sudden noise outside in the corridor put an end to their discussion. They hadn't realized how loudly they had been talking.**

" **Quick!"**

**Ron threw the cloak back over them as the luminous eyes of Mrs. Norris came round the door. Ron and Harry stood quite still, both thinking the same thing—did the cloak work on cats? After what seemed an age, she turned and left.**

" **This isn't safe—she might have gone for Filch, I bet she heard us. Come on."**

**And Ron pulled Harry out of the room.**

**The snow still hadn't melted the next morning.**

" **Want to play chess, Harry?" said Ron.**

" **No."**

" **Why don't we go down and visit Hagrid?"**

" **No…you go…"**

" **I know what you're thinking about, Harry, that mirror. Don't go back tonight."**

" **Why not?"**

" **I dunno, I've just got a bad feeling about it—and anyway, you've had too many close shaves already. Filch, Snape, and Mrs. Norris are wandering around. So what if they can't see you? What if they walk into you? What if you knock something over?"**

" **You sound like Hermione."**

"And that's a bad thing?" Hermione asked.

"Sorry," Harry muttered.

" **I'm serious, Harry, don't go."**

**But Harry only had one thought in his head, which was to get back in front of the mirror, and Ron wasn't going to stop him.**

**That third night he found his way more quickly than before. He was walking so fast he knew he was making more noise than was wise, but he didn't meet anyone.**

**And there were his mother and father smiling at him again, and one of his grandfathers nodding happily. Harry sank down to sit on the floor in front of the mirror. There was nothing to stop him from staying here all night with his family. Nothing at all.**

**Except—**

" **So—back again, Harry?"**

"Oh no!" Hermione moaned.

**Harry felt as though his insides had turned to ice. He looked behind him. Sitting on one of the desks by the wall was none other than Albus Dumbledore. Harry must have walked straight past him, so desperate to get to the mirror he hadn't noticed him.**

" **Strange how nearsighted being invisible can make you," said Dumbledore, and Harry was relieved to see that he was smiling.**

"You're not going to get in trouble," Hermione and Percy said at the same time; only Hermione was smiling and Percy was frowning.

" **So," said Dumbledore, slipping off the desk to sit on the floor with Harry, "you, like hundreds before you, have discovered the delights of the Mirror of Erised."**

" **I didn't know it was called that, sir."**

" **But I expect you've realized by now what it does?"**

" **It—well—it shows me my family—"**

" **And it showed your friend Ron himself as Head Boy."**

" **How did you know—?"**

" **I don't need a cloak to become invisible," said Dumbledore gently.**

"Dumbledore rocks," the twins yelled.

" **Now, can you think what the Mirror of Erised shows us all?"**

**Harry shook his head.**

" **Let me explain. The happiest man on earth would be able to use the Mirror of Erised like a normal mirror, that is, he would look into it and see himself exactly as he is. Does that help?"**

**Harry thought. Then he said slowly, "It shows us what we want…whatever we want…"**

" **Yes and no," said Dumbledore quietly. "It shows us nothing more or less than the deepest, most desperate desire of our hearts.**

"Deepest desires?" Percy repeated, looking at Ron. He slowly was piecing together what Ron's desire might be, but he couldn't believe it.

**You, who have never known your family,**

"You have to point that out," Harry muttered as everyone looked at him with sad looks.

**see them standing around you. Ronald Weasley, who has always been overshadowed by his brothers, sees himself standing alone, the best off all of them.**

Bill, Charlie, Percy, Fred and George shifted in their seats. They felt guilty that they had made their little brother feel overshadowed.

Bill looked at his youngest brother, and felt guilt over take him. He was the eldest of them all. He should have been able to see this.

Charlie really wanted to ram his head into something hard. Maybe that would teach him not to be so thick.

Percy swallowed thickly. He decided to spend more time with his youngest brother.

The twins looked around and saw the immense guilt that was visible on their siblings' faces. Fred leaned over and whispered to Bill "We're gonna have a Weasley meeting after this is done."

Bill nodded, and motioned for Charlie to continue reading.

**However, this mirror will give us neither knowledge or truth. Men have wasted away before it, entranced by what they have seen, or been driven mad, not knowing if what it shows is real or even possible.**

" **The Mirror will be moved to a new home tomorrow, Harry, and I ask you not to go looking for it again. If you ever** _ **do**_ **run across it, you will now be prepared. It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live, remember that. Now, why don't you put that admirable cloak back on and get off to bed?"**

**Harry stood up.**

" **Sir—Professor Dumbledore? Can I ask you something?"**

" **Obviously, you've just done so," Dumbledore smiled. "You may ask me one more thing, however."**

" **What do you see when you look in the mirror?"**

"That was rather personal," Katie said.

"You know you want to know as much as everyone else," Alicia teased.

" **I? I see myself holding a pair of thick, woolen socks."**

"Socks?" the twins asked.

"That's what it says," Charlie shrugged.

**Harry stared.**

" **One can never have enough socks," said Dumbledore. "Another Christmas has come and gone and I didn't get a single pair. People will insist on giving me books."**

"Well, now we know what to get him this year," Lee chuckled.

 **It was only when he was back in bed that it struck Harry that Dumbledore might not have been quite truthful. But then, he thought, as he shoved Scabbers off his pillow, it had been quite a personal question**.

"Ya think?" Alicia said rolling her eyes.

"That's the end of the chapter," Charlie said handing it to Bill. "You're next big brother."

"The next chapter is called Nicholas Flamel." Bill said. "So you finally find out who he is."


	13. Chapter 13

" **Nicolas Flamel,"** Bill read.

"So you finally find out who he is," Charlie grinned.

**Dumbledore had convinced Harry not to go looking for the Mirror of Erised again,**

"And you listened?" Hermione was stunned.

"He's Dumbledore," Harry shrugged. "Nuff said."

**and for the rest of the Christmas holidays the invisibility cloak stayed folded at the bottom of his trunk.**

**Harry wished he could forget what he'd seen in the mirror as easily, but he couldn't. He started having nightmares.**

"Harry," Katie said softly. Angelina and Alicia gave the second year a small smile.

**Over and over again he dreamed about his parents disappearing in a flash of green light, while a high voice cackled with laughter.**

Harry was determined not to meet anyone's eye, which was good as there were several looks of pity, but there were some that just seemed angry.

"Killing is wrong, killing is wrong, killing is wrong," Ron could be heard muttering.

**"You see, Dumbledore was right, that mirror could drive you mad," said Ron, when Harry told him about these dreams.**

**Hermione, who came back the day before term started, took a different view of things. She was torn between horror at the idea of Harry being out of bed, roaming the school three nights in a row ("If Filch had caught you!"), and disappointment that he hadn't at least found out who Nicolas Flamel was.**

"Instead of Hermione being a good influence..." Oliver said.

"It seems like Harry and Ron have been bad influences," Angelina chuckled.

**They had almost given up hope of ever finding Flamel in a library book, even though Harry was still sure he'd read the name somewhere.**

"This is becoming annoying," Oliver muttered.

**Once term had started, they were back to skimming through books for ten minutes during their breaks. Harry had even less time than the other two, because Quidditch practice had started again.**

"How will you find him now?" Bill asked.

"Yeah, one third of your man power has been eliminated," Charlie frowned.

No one noticed the smirks on the trio's faces.

**Wood was working the team harder than ever. Even the endless rain that had replaced the snow couldn't dampen his spirits. The Weasleys complained that Wood was becoming a fanatic,**

"Well you were," the rest of the team said to Oliver, when they saw the glare headed their way.

**but Harry was on Wood's side.**

"See, at least one person was on my side," Oliver beamed at his seeker.

**If they won their next match, against Hufflepuff, they would overtake Slytherin in the house championship for the first time in seven years.**

"Gits."

**Quite apart from wanting to win, Harry found that he had fewer nightmares when he was tired out after training.**

**Then, during one particularly wet and muddy practice session, Wood gave the team a bit of bad news. He'd just gotten very angry with the Weasleys, who kept dive-bombing each other and pretending to fall off their brooms.**

"That was fun," Fred chuckled.

**"Will you stop messing around!" he yelled. "That's exactly the sort of thing that'll lose us the match! Snape's refereeing this time, and he'll be looking for any excuse to knock points off Gryffindor!"**

"Umm, I don't think he'd need an excuse," Cho muttered.

**George Weasley really did fall off his broom at these words.**

"Were you alright?" Charlie asked George.

"Yeah," George shrugged.

**"** _**Snape's** _ **refereeing?" he spluttered through a mouthful of mud.**

"It tasted horrible," George made a face.

**"When's he ever refereed a Quidditch match? He's not going to be fair if we might overtake Slytherin."**

**The rest of the team landed next to George to complain, too.**

"It sounded like a gaggle of geese," Oliver chuckled at the memory.

**"It's not** _**my** _ **fault," said Wood. "We've just got to make sure we play a clean game, so Snape hasn't got an excuse to pick on us."**

"Does Snape ever need an excuse to pick on us?" Katie asked.

**Which was all very well, thought Harry, but he had another reason for not wanting Snape near him while he was playing Quidditch...**

"Who wants Snape by them at anytime?" Alicia shuddered.

**The rest of the team hung back to talk to one another as usual at the end of practice, but Harry headed straight back to the Gryffindor common room, where he found Ron and Hermione playing chess. Chess was the only thing Hermione ever lost at, something Harry and Ron thought was very good for her.**

"Hey!" Hermione cried.

**"Don't talk to me for a moment," said Ron when Harry sat down next to him, "I need to concen -" He caught sight of Harry's face. "What's the matter with you? You look terrible."**

"Tactful," Fred chuckled.

**Speaking quietly so that no one else would hear, Harry told the other two about Snape's sudden, sinister desire to be a Quidditch referee.**

**"Don't play," said Hermione at once.**

"WHAT!" The twins, Lee, Oliver and Charlie cried.

"It was the first thing that popped into my head," Hermione defended herself.

**"Say you're ill," said Ron.**

"Why?" Charlie asked. "It's Quidditch."

**"Pretend to break your leg," Hermione suggested.**

"Pomfrey wouldn't have bought that," Fred said.

"Neither would McGonagall," George finished.

**"** _**Really** _ **break your leg," said Ron.**

"What were you thinking?" Oliver and Charlie yelled.

"I didn't want to see Harry get hurt," Ron muttered. Bill chuckled.

"It wasn't a bad idea, but Madam Pomfrey can mend bones in a second." he told Ron.

**"I can't," said Harry. "There isn't a reserve Seeker. If I back out, Gryffindor can't play at all."**

**At that moment Neville toppled into the common room. How he had managed to climb through the portrait hole was anyone's guess, because his legs had been stuck together with what they recognized at once as the Leg-Locker Curse. He must have had to bunny hop all the way up to Gryffindor tower.**

"That was difficult," Neville muttered.

**Everyone fell over laughing except Hermione, who leapt up and performed the countercurse.**

"Thanks Hermione," Neville said.

"Anytime," Hermione said with a smile.

**Neville's legs sprang apart and he got to his feet, trembling.**

**"What happened?" Hermione asked him, leading him over to sit with Harry and Ron.**

**"Malfoy," said Neville shakily. "I met him outside the library. He said he'd been looking for someone to practice that on."**

"Git!"

**"Go to Professor McGonagall!" Hermione urged Neville. "Report him!"**

**Neville shook his head.**

**"I don't want more trouble," he mumbled.**

**"You've got to stand up to him, Neville!" said Ron. "He's used to walking all over people, but that's no reason to lie down in front of him and make it easier."**

"A very good point Ron," Percy nodded. "Neville, next time _Malfoy_ gives you any grief, just come to me." Percy couldn't help but spit out the word Malfoy.

**"There's no need to tell me I'm not brave enough to be in Gryffindor, Malfoy's already done that," Neville choked out.**

"You know," Ron said when he saw that he was the object of several glares, "that's not what I meant."

"Yes, but you said it in a rather blunt way," Harry chuckled.

**Harry felt in the pocket of his robes and pulled out a Chocolate Frog, the very last one from the box Hermione had given him for Christmas. He gave it to Neville, who looked as though he might cry.**

**"You're worth twelve of Malfoy," Harry said. "The Sorting Hat chose you for Gryffindor, didn't it? And where's Malfoy? In stinking Slytherin."**

"Thanks for that Harry," Neville told him.

"No problem. Gryffindors stick together," Harry said with a smile.

**Neville's lips twitched in a weak smile as he unwrapped the frog.**

**"Thanks, Harry... I think I'll go to bed... D'you want the card, you collect them, don't you?"**

**As Neville walked away, Harry looked at the Famous Wizard card.**

**"Dumbledore again," he said, "He was the first one I ever-"**

**He gasped. He stared at the back of the card. Then he looked up at Ron and Hermione.**

**"** _**I've found him!** _ **" he whispered. "I've found Flamel! I** _**told** _ **you I'd read the name somewhere before, I read it on the train coming here – listen to this: 'Dumbledore is particularly famous for his defeat of the dark wizard Grindelwald in 1945, for the discovery of the twelve uses of dragon's blood,** _**and his work on alchemy with his partner, Nicolas Flamel'** _ **!"**

"After all that time in the library, you find him on a chocolate frog card?" Charlie asked.

"Yep."

"I _told_ mum eating candy was educational," Fred muttered, "but she didn't listen."

**Hermione jumped to her feet. She hadn't looked so excited since they'd gotten back the marks for their very first piece of homework.**

"I did not," Hermione huffed.

**"Stay there!" she said, and she sprinted up the stairs to the girls' dormitories. Harry and Ron barely had time to exchange mystified looks before she was dashing back, an enormous old book in her arms.**

**"I never thought to look in here!" she whispered excitedly. "I got this out of the library weeks ago for a bit of light reading."**

All of the older students and those who graduated turned and gaped at Hermione.

"Light?" Angelina asked.

"Yep," Ron nodded.

"Didn't the book say that it was a large book?" Alicia asked. Hermione flushed.

**"** _**Light?** _ **" said Ron, but Hermione told him to be quiet until she'd looked something up, and started flicking frantically through the pages, muttering to herself.**

**At last she found what she was looking for.**

**"I knew it! I** _**knew** _ **it!"**

**"Are we allowed to speak yet?" said Ron grumpily.**

"I'm going to guess—"

"—no."

**Hermione ignored him.**

"You do that a lot," Harry said.

"It gets annoying," Ron told her.

**"Nicolas Flamel," she whispered dramatically, "is the** _**only known maker of the Sorcerer's Stone** _ **!"**

**This didn't have quite the effect she'd expected.**

"What did you expect?" Angelina asked.

"Something other than what I got," Hermione said.

**"The what?" said Harry and Ron.**

**"Oh,** _**honestly** _ **, don't you two read?**

"Nice one Hermione," Katie chuckled.

**Look - read that, there."**

**She pushed the book toward them, and Harry and Ron read:**

_**The ancient study of alchemy is concerned with making the Sorcerer's Stone, a legendary substance with astonishing powers. The stone will transform any metal into pure gold. It also produces the Elixir of Life, which will make the drinker immortal.** _

"Immortal?" Fred gasped.

"It means you'll never die," Katie told him.

"I know what it means," Fred snapped back.

"Don't start you two," Oliver stopped the argument before it got into a full swing.

_**There have been many reports of the Sorcerer's Stone over the centuries, but the only Stone currently in existence belongs to Mr. Nicolas Flamel, the noted alchemist and opera lover. Mr. Flamel, who celebrated his six hundred and sixty-fifth birthday last year, enjoys a quiet life in Devon with his wife, Perenelle (six hundred and fifty-eight).** _

"Holy shit!" Oliver gasped and then winced as Alicia whacked him.

"Don't swear."

But even she was impressed by the age of the wizard.

**"See?" said Hermione, when Harry and Ron had finished. "The dog must be guarding Flamel's Sorcerer's Stone! I bet he asked Dumbledore to keep it safe for him, because they're friends and he knew someone was after it, that's why he wanted the Stone moved out of Gringotts!"**

"Why aren't you in Ravenclaw?" Cho asked Hermione.

"Because I asked to be in Gryffindor," Hermione said softly.

**"A stone that makes gold and stops you from ever dying!" said Harry. "No wonder Snape's after it!** _**Anyone** _ **would want it."**

"That does sound enticing," Cho mused.

**"And no wonder we couldn't find Flamel in that S** _**tudy of Recent Developments in Wizardry** _ **," said Ron. "He's not exactly recent if he's six hundred and sixty-five, is he?"**

"Ron," Fred said chuckling.

"That was pretty stupid, wasn't it?" Ron chuckled as well.

**The next morning in Defense Against the Dark Arts, while copying down different ways of treating werewolf bites, Harry and Ron were still discussing what they'd do with a Sorcerer's Stone if they had one. It wasn't until Ron said he'd buy his own Quidditch team that Harry remembered about Snape and the coming match.**

**"I'm going to play," he told Ron and Hermione. "If I don't, all the Slytherins will think I'm just too scared to face Snape. I'll show them... it'll really wipe the smiles off their faces if we win."**

**"Just as long as we're not wiping you off the field," said Hermione.**

"Harry, your pessimistic nature is wiping off onto your friends," Angelina told him.

**As the match drew nearer, however, Harry became more and more nervous, whatever he told Ron and Hermione. The rest of the team wasn't too calm, either. The idea of overtaking Slytherin in the house championship was wonderful, no one had done it for seven years, but would they be allowed to, with such a biased referee?**

"We did, though." Oliver grinned.

**Harry didn't know whether he was imagining it or not, but he seemed to keep running into Snape wherever he went. At times, he even wondered whether Snape was following him, trying to catch him on his own. Potions lessons were turning into a sort of weekly torture, Snape was so horrible to Harry. Could Snape possibly know they'd found out about the Sorcerer's Stone? Harry didn't see how he could—yet he sometimes had the horrible feeling that Snape could read minds.**

"That's just creepy," Alicia shuddered.

"Though it wouldn't surprise me if he could," Fred muttered.

"We can never prank him; he always seems to know if we try," George explained.

**Harry knew, when they wished him good luck outside the locker rooms the next afternoon, that Ron and Hermione were wondering whether they'd ever see him alive again.**

"That's cheerful," Lee muttered.

**This wasn't what you'd call comforting. Harry hardly heard a word of Wood's pep talk as he pulled on his Quidditch robes and picked up his Nimbus Two Thousand.**

**Ron and Hermione, meanwhile, had found a place in the stands next to Neville, who couldn't understand why they looked so grim and worried, or why they had both brought their wands to the match. Little did Harry know that Ron and Hermione had been secretly practicing the Leg-Locker Curse. They'd gotten the idea from Malfoy using it on Neville, and were ready to use it on Snape if he showed any sign of wanting to hurt Harry.**

**"Now, don't forget, it's** _**Locomotor Mortis** _ **," Hermione muttered as Ron slipped his wand up his sleeve.**

**"I** _**know** _ **," Ron snapped. "Don't nag."**

**Back in the locker room, Wood had taken Harry aside.**

**"Don't want to pressure you, Potter, but if we ever need an early capture of the Snitch it's now. Finish the game before Snape can favor Hufflepuff too much."**

**"The whole school's out there!" said Fred Weasley, peering out of the door. "Even—blimey—Dumbledore's come to watch!"**

**Harry's heart did a somersault.**

"Your body does some odd things," Fred said.

**"** _**Dumbledore?** _ **" he said, dashing to the door to make sure. Fred was right. There was no mistaking that silver beard.**

"I don't know—"

"—we heard some second years were planning on wearing silver beards to that match." The twins said.

**Harry could have laughed out loud with relief. He was safe. There was simply no way that Snape would dare to try to hurt him if Dumbledore was watching.**

"I don't think anyone would try to hurt anyone in front of Dumbledore," Percy said.

**Perhaps that was why Snape was looking so angry as the teams marched onto the field, something that Ron noticed, too.**

"Another view point change," Oliver sighed. "Gets annoying quickly."

"There have only been two," Angelina said confused.

**"I've never seen Snape look so mean," he told Hermione. "Look—they're off. Ouch!"**

**Someone had poked Ron in the back of the head. It was Malfoy.**

**"Oh, sorry, Weasley, didn't see you there."**

**Malfoy grinned broadly at Crabbe and Goyle.**

**"Wonder how long Potter's going to stay on his broom this time? Anyone want a bet? What about you, Weasley?"**

"Git."

**Ron didn't answer; Snape had just awarded Hufflepuff a penalty because George Weasley had hit a Bludger at him.**

Everyone in the room burst out in laughter. Lee patted George on the back.

**Hermione, who had all her fingers crossed in her lap, was squinting fixedly at Harry, who was circling the game like a hawk, looking for the Snitch.**

**"You know how I think they choose people for the Gryffindor team?" said Malfoy loudly a few minutes later, as Snape awarded Hufflepuff another penalty for no reason at all. "It's people they feel sorry for. See, there's Potter, who's got no parents, then there's the Weasleys, who've got no money - you should be on the team, Longbottom, you've got no brains."**

"Git!"

**Neville went bright red but turned in his seat to face Malfoy.**

**"I'm worth twelve of you, Malfoy," he stammered.**

"Go Neville!" The twins cheered and Neville flushed.

**Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle howled with laughter, but Ron, still not daring to take his eyes from the game, said, "You tell him, Neville."**

**"Longbottom, if brains were gold you'd be poorer than Weasley, and that's saying something."**

"That's really rude," Alicia sniffed.

**Ron's nerves were already stretched to the breaking point with anxiety about Harry.**

**"I'm warning you, Malfoy—one more word—"**

**"Ron!" said Hermione suddenly, "Harry—!"**

**"What? Where?"**

**Harry had suddenly gone into a spectacular dive, which drew gasps and cheers from the crowd. Hermione stood up, her crossed fingers in her mouth, as Harry streaked toward the ground like a bullet.**

" **You're in luck, Weasley, Potter's obviously spotted some money on the ground!" said Malfoy.**

**Ron snapped. Before Malfoy knew what was happening, Ron was on top of him, wrestling him to the ground.**

"Go Ron!" The twins and Charlie cheered.

**Neville hesitated, then clambered over the back of his seat to help.**

**"Come on, Harry!" Hermione screamed, leaping onto her seat to watch as Harry sped straight at Snape—she didn't even notice Malfoy and Ron rolling around under her seat, or the scuffles and yelps coming from the whirl of fists that was Neville, Crabbe, and Goyle.**

Harry and Ron looked at Hermione in disbelief.

"I wanted to make sure Harry would be okay," Hermione said.

**Up in the air, Snape turned on his broomstick just in time to see something scarlet shoot past him, missing him by inches—the next second, Harry had pulled out of the dive, his arm raised in triumph, the Snitch clasped in his hand.**

"You should have hit him," George pouted.

"You got to hit a bludger at him," Harry pointed out.

**The stands erupted; it had to be a record, no one could ever remember the Snitch being caught so quickly.**

"YES!" Charlie cheered.

**"Ron! Ron! Where are you? The game's over! Harry's won! We've won! Gryffindor is in the lead!" shrieked Hermione, dancing up and down on her seat and hugging Parvati Patil in the row in front.**

**Harry jumped off his broom, a foot from the ground. He couldn't believe it. He'd done it—the game was over; it had barely lasted five minutes. As Gryffindors came spilling onto the field, he saw Snape land nearby, white-faced and tight-lipped—then Harry felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up into Dumbledore's smiling face.**

**"Well done," said Dumbledore quietly, so that only Harry could hear. "Nice to see you haven't been brooding about that mirror... been keeping busy... excellent..."**

**Snape spat bitterly on the ground.**

"So that's why no grass will grow there," Angelina chuckled.

**Harry left the locker room alone some time later, to take his Nimbus Two Thousand back to the broomshed. He couldn't ever remember feeling happier. He'd really done something to be proud of now—no one could say he was just a famous name any more.**

"Oh yeah, because winning a Quidditch game is more important than defeating the most feared wizard in fifty years." Hermione said rolling her eyes.

**The evening air had never smelled so sweet. He walked over the damp grass, reliving the last hour in his head, which was a happy blur: Gryffindors running to lift him onto their shoulders; Ron and Hermione in the distance, jumping up and down, Ron cheering through a heavy nosebleed.**

**Harry had reached the shed. He leaned against the wooden door and looked up at Hogwarts, with its windows glowing red in the setting sun. Gryffindor in the lead. He'd done it, he'd shown Snape...**

"And we were all so proud," Oliver said with a big grin.

**And speaking of Snape...**

"Do we have to? Neville muttered then turned pink when he realized he said that out loud.

**A hooded figure came swiftly down the front steps of the castle. Clearly not wanting to be seen,**

"I think it failed," Lee chuckled.

**it walked as fast as possible toward the forbidden forest.**

"And so you follow it," Alicia rolled her eyes.

**Harry's victory faded from his mind as he watched. He recognized the figure's prowling walk. Snape, sneaking into the forest while everyone else was at dinner—what was going on?**

"Curiosity killed the cat," Hermione told her friend.

"Good thing I'm not a cat," Harry told her.

**Harry jumped back on his Nimbus Two Thousand and took off. Gliding silently over the castle he saw Snape enter the forest at a run. He followed.**

**The trees were so thick he couldn't see where Snape had gone. He flew in circles, lower and lower, brushing the top branches of trees until he heard voices. He glided toward them and landed noiselessly in a towering beech tree.**

**He climbed carefully along one of the branches, holding tight to his broomstick, trying to see through the leaves.**

**Below, in a shadowy clearing, stood Snape, but he wasn't alone. Quirrell**

"Evil git," Ron and Harry muttered under their breath low enough so that no one would hear.

**was there, too. Harry couldn't make out the look on his face, but he was stuttering worse than ever. Harry strained to catch what they were saying.**

**"... d-don't know why you wanted t-t-to meet here of all p-places, Severus..."**

"It's a creepy place—"

"—and I'm a creepy bloke.—"

"Do the maths," the twins said.

**"Oh, I thought we'd keep this private," said Snape, his voice icy. "Students aren't supposed to know about the Sorcerer's Stone, after all."**

"But three of them did," Harry whispered to Ron and Hermione.

**Harry leaned forward. Quirrell was mumbling something. Snape interrupted him.**

**"Have you found out how to get past that beast of Hagrid's yet?"**

**"B-b-but Severus, I—"**

**"You don't want me as your enemy, Quirrell," said Snape, taking a step toward him.**

**"I-I don't know what you—"**

**"You know perfectly well what I mean."**

**An owl hooted loudly, and Harry nearly fell out of the tree. He steadied himself in time to hear Snape say, "—your little bit of hocus-pocus. I'm waiting."**

**"B-but I d-d-don't—"**

**"Very well," Snape cut in. "We'll have another little chat soon, when you've had time to think things over and decided where your loyalties lie."**

"Evil git," Bill muttered.

**He threw his cloak over his head and strode out of the clearing. It was almost dark now, but Harry could see Quirrell, standing quite still as though he was petrified.**

**"Harry, where have you** _**been** _ **?" Hermione squeaked.**

"Squeaked?" Hermione asked, raising an eyebrow.

**"We won! You won! We won!" shouted Ron, thumping Harry on the back. "And I gave Malfoy a black eye, and Neville tried to take on Crabbe and Goyle single-handed!**

"Gryffindor," Oliver told the boy.

Neville gave a weak smile.

**He's still out cold but Madam Pomfrey says he'll be all right—talk about showing Slytherin! Everyone's waiting for you in the common room, we're having a party, Fred and George stole some cakes and stuff from the kitchens."**

**"Never mind that now," said Harry breathlessly. "Let's find an empty room, you wait 'til you hear this..."**

**He made sure Peeves wasn't inside before shutting the door behind them, then he told them what he'd seen and heard.**

" **So we were right, it** _ **is**_ **the Sorcerer's Stone, and Snape's trying to force Quirrell to help him get it. He asked if he knew how to get past Fluffy—and he said something about Quirrell's 'hocus pocus'—I reckon there are other things guarding the stone apart from Fluffy, loads of enchantments, probably, and Quirrell would have done some anti-Dark Arts spell that Snape needs to break through—"**

**"So you mean the Stone's only safe as long as Quirrell stands up to Snape?" said Hermione in alarm.**

**"It'll be gone by next Tuesday," said Ron.**

"Right," Bill said. "Two things. One: that's the end of the chapter and two: stop being so pessimistic."

"Who's turn is it to read?" Oliver asked.

"Lee's, I think." Fred said.

Lee shook his head. "I'll take the chapter after this one, Percy can switch with me."

"Alright, Percy," Bill said giving his little brother the book.

"Charlie, you are going to kick yourself," Percy said with a frown.

"Why?"

"Because the next chapter is called Norbert the Norwegian Ridgeback." Percy told his older brother.


	14. Chapter 14

" **Norbert the Norwegian Ridgeback,"** Percy read.

"That's a species of dragon," Cho said. "Why is this chapter titled after a species of dragon?"

Neville leaned over to the trio and whispered, "So there really was a dragon?"

"Yeah, sorry Neville. We never wanted to get you in trouble," Hermione whispered back.

**Quirrell, however, must have been braver than they'd thought.**

"Quirrell?" Lee and Neville asked.

"Brave?" Katie, Angelina, Alicia, Oliver and Percy chuckled.

"Not in this lifetime," everyone who had had the professor chorused.

**In the weeks that followed he did seem to be getting paler and thinner, but it didn't look as though he'd cracked yet.**

"He did crack though," Harry whispered to Ron and Hermione. "He was a crazy nut."

**Every time they passed the third-floor corridor, Harry, Ron, and Hermione would press their ears to the door to check that Fluffy was still growling inside. Snape was sweeping about in his usual bad temper,**

"So a normal day at Hogwarts?" Neville asked.

"Pretty much," Ron nodded.

**which surely meant that the Stone was still safe. Whenever Harry passed Quirrell these days he gave him an encouraging sort of smile, and Ron had started telling people off for laughing at Quirrell's stutter.**

"That was nice of you Ron," Charlie sent his youngest brother a warm smile.

**Hermione, however, had more on her mind than the Philosopher's Stone. She had started drawing up study schedules and color-coding all her notes.**

"I used to do that," Bill said. The twins started scooting closer to Charlie.

**Harry and Ron wouldn't have minded, but she kept nagging them to do the same.**

**"Hermione, the exams are ages away."**

**"Ten weeks," Hermione snapped. "That's not ages, that's like a second to Nicolas Flamel."**

"But they're not six hundred years old," George said.

**"But we're not six hundred years old," Ron reminded her.**

"No need to repeat what I said, Ron," George said with a chuckle.

**"Anyway, what are you studying for, you already know it all."**

**"What am I studying for? Are you crazy? You realize we need to pass these exams to get into the second year? They're very important, I should have started studying a month ago, I don't know what's gotten into me..."**

"The fact that someone is trying to steal the stone?" Fred asked.

"Exams are important," Percy stuck up for Hermione.

 **Unfortunately, the teachers seemed to be thinking along the same lines as Hermione.** **They piled so much homework on them that the Easter holidays weren't nearly as much fun as the Christmas ones.**

**It was hard to relax with Hermione next to you reciting the twelve uses of dragon's blood**

"Hmph," Hermione huffed.

**or practicing wand movements. Moaning and yawning, Harry and Ron spent most of their free time in the library with her, trying to get through all their extra work.**

**"I'll never remember this," Ron burst out one afternoon, throwing down his quill and looking longingly out of the library window. It was the first really fine day they'd had in months.**

**The sky was a clear, forget-me-not blue, and there was a feeling in the air of summer coming.**

**Harry, who was looking up "Dittany" in** _**One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi** _ **, didn't look up until he heard Ron say, "Hagrid! What are you doing in the library?"**

"Since when is Hagrid not allowed in the library?" Fred asked.

**Hagrid shuffled into view, hiding something behind his back. He looked very out of place in his moleskin overcoat.**

**"Jus' lookin'," he said, in a shifty voice that got their interest at once.**

"Yay! A new plot point!" The twins cheered but stopped once they noticed everyone's odd looks.

**"An' what're you lot up ter?" He looked suddenly suspicious. "Yer not still lookin' fer Nicolas Flamel, are yeh?"**

**"Oh, we found out who he is ages ago," said Ron impressively. "** _**And** _ **we know what that dog's guarding, it's a Philosopher's St—"**

"Don't go around shouting it," Katie scolded.

**"** _**Shhhh!** _ **" Hagrid looked around quickly to see if anyone was listening. "Don' go shoutin' about it, what's the matter with yeh?"**

Katie chuckled at having said the same thing as Hagrid.

**"There are a few things we wanted to ask you, as a matter of fact," said Harry, "about what's guarding the Stone apart from Fluffy—"**

**"SHHHH!" said Hagrid again. "Listen—come an' see me later, I'm not promisin' I'll tell yeh anythin', mind, but don' go rabbitin' about it in here, students aren' s'pposed ter know. They'll think I've told yeh—"**

**"See you later, then," said Harry.**

**Hagrid shuffled off.**

**"What was he hiding behind his back?" said Hermione thoughtfully.**

**"Do you think it had anything to do with the Stone?"**

**"I'm going to see what section he was in," said Ron, who'd had enough of working.**

"Well, as long as it's a noble purpose," Fred said.

"We support you little brother," George finished.

**He came back a minute later with a pile of books in his arms and slammed them down on the table.**

**"** _**Dragons!** _ **" he whispered. "Hagrid was looking up stuff about dragons! Look at these:** _**Dragon Species of Great Britain and Ireland; From Egg to Inferno, A Dragon Keeper's Guide** _ **."**

"Get ready to lose Cedric," Cho said. Yet she wasn't all that excited about winning if it meant the trio would be seeing a dragon up close.

**"Hagrid's always wanted a dragon, he told me so the first time I ever met him, " said Harry.**

**"But it's against our laws," said Ron. "Dragon breeding was outlawed by the Warlocks' Convention of 1709, everyone knows that."**

"I didn't know that," Oliver said.

"Me neither," Cho shook her head.

**It's hard to stop Muggles from noticing us if we're keeping dragons in the back garden—anyway, you can't tame dragons, it's dangerous. You should see the burns Charlie's got off wild ones in Romania."**

**"But there aren't wild dragons in** _**Britain** _ **?" said Harry.**

"Of course there are," Charlie said rolling his eyes.

**"Of course there are," said Ron.**

Bill chuckled at the look on Charlie's face.

**"Common Welsh Green and Hebridean Blacks. The Ministry of Magic has a job hushing them up, I can tell you. Our kind have to keep putting spells on Muggles who've spotted them, to make them forget."**

**"So what on earths Hagrid up to?" said Hermione.**

**When they knocked on the door of the gamekeeper's hut an hour later, they were surprised to see that all the curtains were closed.**

**Hagrid called "Who is it?" before he let them in, and then shut the door quickly behind them.**

**It was stifling hot inside. Even though it was such a warm day, there was a blazing fire in the grate.**

"That's odd," Percy said.

**Hagrid made them tea and offered them stoat sandwiches, which they refused.**

**"So—yeh wanted to ask me somethin'?"**

**"Yes," said Harry. There was no point beating around the bush. "We were wondering if you could tell us what's guarding the Philosopher's Stone apart from Fluffy."**

**Hagrid frowned at him.**

**"O' course I cant, he said. "Number one, I don' know meself. Number two, yeh know too much already, so I wouldn' tell yeh if I could. That Stone's here fer a good reason. It was almost stolen outta Gringotts—I s'ppose yeh've worked that out an' all? Beats me how yeh even know abou' Fluffy."**

"Well, we felt like going on a midnight stroll," Angelina said.

"And we happened to come across Peeves," Katie continued.

"Who made so we had to run for our lives," Alicia finished.

**"Oh, come on, Hagrid, you might not want to tell us, but you** _**do** _ **know, you know everything that goes on round here," said Hermione in a warm, flattering voice. Hagrid's beard twitched and they could tell he was smiling. "We only wondered who had** _**done** _ **the guarding, really." Hermione went on. "We wondered who Dumbledore had trusted enough to help him, apart from you."**

The twins turned to Hermione and said "Are you sure you wouldn't want to join us in our pranking quest?"

"I'm sure," Hermione said with a giggle.

**Hagrid's chest swelled at these last words. Harry and Ron beamed at Hermione.**

**"Well, I don' s'pose it could hurt ter tell yeh that... let's see... he borrowed Fluffy from me... then some o' the teachers did enchantments... Professor Sprout—Professor Flitwick—Professor McGonagall—" he ticked them off on his fingers, "Professor Quirrell—an' Dumbledore himself did somethin', o' course. Hang on, I've forgotten someone. Oh yeah, Professor Snape."**

"That stone's gone," Cedric moaned.

**"** _**Snape?** _ **"**

**"Yeah—yer not still on abou' that, are yeh? Look, Snape helped** _**protect** _ **the Stone, he's not about ter steal it."**

"Hagrid was half right," Hermione whispered to Harry and Ron. "It wasn't Snape, but someone protecting the Stone was out to steal it."

**Harry knew Ron and Hermione were thinking the same as he was. If Snape had been in on protecting the Stone, it must have been easy to find out how the other teachers had guarded it. He probably knew everything—except, it seemed, Quirrell's spell and how to get past Fluffy.**

"And hopefully, he never will," Lee said and Fred nodded with his friend.

**"You're the only one who knows how to get past Fluffy. aren't you, Hagrid?" said Harry anxiously. "And you wouldn't tell anyone, would you? Not even one of the teachers?"**

**"Not a soul knows except me an' Dumbledore," said Hagrid proudly.**

"And us," Ron whispered to Harry and Hermione.

**"Well, that's something," Harry muttered to the others. "Hagrid, can we have a window open? I'm boiling."**

**"Can't, Harry, sorry," said Hagrid. Harry noticed him glance at the fire. Harry looked at it, too.**

**"Hagrid—what's** _**that** _ **?"**

**But he already knew what it was. In the very heart of the fire, underneath the kettle, was a huge, black egg.**

**"Ah," said Hagrid, fiddling nervously with his beard, "That's er..."**

"An illegal substance to which I'm showing first years," Bill and Percy said at once.

**"Where did you get it, Hagrid?" said Ron, crouching over the fire to get a closer look at the egg. "It must've cost you a fortune."**

**"Won it," said Hagrid. "Las' night. I was down in the village havin' a few drinks an' got into a game o' cards with a stranger. Think he was quite glad ter get rid of it, ter be honest."**

**"But what are you going to do with it when it's hatched?" said Hermione.**

"Make it into a pet to play with Fluffy," Fred said.

**"Well, I've bin doin' some readin' , said Hagrid, pulling a large book from under his pillow. "Got this outta the library—** _**Dragon Breeding for Pleasure and Profit** _ **—it's a bit outta date, o' course, but it's all in here. Keep the egg in the fire, 'cause their mothers breathe on I 'em, see, an' when it hatches, feed it on a bucket o' brandy mixed with chicken blood every half hour. An' see here—how ter recognize diff'rent egg—what I got there's a Norwegian Ridgeback. They're rare, them."**

"Only five hundred have been spotted in Britain," Charlie said. "That being said, Hagrid, what are you thinking?"

**He looked very pleased with himself, but Hermione didn't.**

**"Hagrid, you live in a** _**wooden house** _ **," she said.**

"Good point Hermione," Katie frowned.

**But Hagrid wasn't listening. He was humming merrily as he stoked the fire.**

**So now they had something else to worry about: what might happen to Hagrid if anyone found out he was hiding an illegal dragon in his hut.**

**"Wonder what it's like to have a peaceful life," Ron sighed,**

"At least you're first years," Bill said. "Imagine going through this in your fifth."

"Umm? What's so bad about fifth year?" Harry asked as the older students shuddered.

"You'll find out kid," Charlie smiled.

**as evening after evening they struggled through all the extra homework they were getting. Hermione had now started making study schedules for Harry and Ron, too. It was driving them nuts.**

**Then, one breakfast time, Hedwig brought Harry another note from Hagrid. He had written only two words:** _**It's hatching** _

**Ron wanted to skip Herbology and go straight down to the hut. Hermione wouldn't hear of it.**

**"Hermione, how many times in our lives are we going to see a dragon hatching?"**

**"We've got lessons, we'll get into trouble, and that's nothing to what Hagrid's going to be in when someone finds out what he's doing—"**

**"Shut up!" Harry whispered.**

**Malfoy was only a few feet away and he had stopped dead to listen. How much had he heard? Harry didn't like the look on Malfoy's face at all.**

"Doesn't his face almost always look unpleasant?" Lee said, making a face.

**Ron and Hermione argued all the way to Herbology and in the end, Hermione agreed to run down to Hagrid's with the other two during morning break. When the bell sounded from the castle at the end of their lesson, the three of them dropped their trowels at once and hurried through the grounds to the edge of the forest. Hagrid greeted them, looking flushed and excited.**

**"It's nearly out." He ushered them inside.**

**The egg was lying on the table. There were deep cracks in it. Something was moving inside; a funny clicking noise was coming from it.**

"That's my favorite part," Charlie sighed.

**They all drew their chairs up to the table and watched with bated breath.**

**All at once there was a scraping noise and the egg split open. The baby dragon flopped onto the table. It wasn't exactly pretty;** **Harry thought it looked like a crumpled, black umbrella. Its spiny wings were huge compared to its skinny jet body, it had a long snout with wide nostrils, the stubs of horns and bulging, orange eyes.**

**It sneezed. A couple of sparks flew out of its snout.**

**"Isn't he** _**beautiful** _ **?" Hagrid murmured. He reached out a hand to stroke the dragon's head. It snapped at his fingers, showing pointed fangs.**

"Pay up," Cho said with a grin. Oliver, Cedric, Angelina, Alicia and Katie all reached into their pockets and pulled out three galleons.

"Always bet the way the trio bets," Fred grinned as he got his share.

**"Bless him, look, he knows his mommy!" said Hagrid.**

"I think he's gone insane," Angelina moaned.

**"Hagrid," said Hermione, "how fast do Norwegian Ridgebacks grow, exactly?"**

**Hagrid was about to answer when the color suddenly drained from his face—he leapt to his feet and ran to the window.**

**"What's the matter?"**

**"Someone was lookin' through the gap in the curtains—it's a kid—he's runnin' back up ter the school."**

**Harry bolted to the door and looked out. Even at a distance there was no mistaking him.**

**Malfoy had seen the dragon.**

"Crap."

**Something about the smile lurking on Malfoy's face during the next week made Harry, Ron, and Hermione very nervous. They spent most of their free time in Hagrid's darkened hut, trying to reason with him.**

**"Just let him go," Harry urged. "Set him free."**

**"I can't," said Hagrid. "He's too little. He'd die."**

"That'd be a real shame," Hermione muttered. Charlie heard that and shot Hermione a glare. The twins realized what was coming up and felt a large pile of fear. Oliver was going to kill them.

**They looked at the dragon. It had grown three times in length in just a week. Smoke kept furling out of its nostrils. Hagrid hadn't been doing his gamekeeping duties because the dragon was keeping him so busy. There were empty brandy bottles and chicken feathers all over the floor.**

**"I've decided to call him Norbert," said Hagrid, looking at the dragon with misty eyes. "He really knows me now, watch. Norbert! Norbert! Where's Mommy?"**

"Hagrid knows he's a man, right?" Alicia asked.

"Who knows?" George shrugged.

**"He's lost his marbles," Ron muttered in Harry's ear.**

**"Hagrid," said Harry loudly, "give it two weeks and Norbert's going to be as long as your house. Malfoy could go to Dumbledore at any moment."**

**Hagrid bit his lip.**

**"I—I know I can't keep him forever, but I can't jus' dump him, I can't."**

**Harry suddenly turned to Ron.**

**"Charlie," he said.**

"So you're the one who thought of it," Charlie smiled at Harry.

"Thought of what?" Fred asked.

"You'll see." Harry said with a smirk.

**"You're losing it, too," said Ron. "I'm Ron, remember?"**

**"No—Charlie—your brother, Charlie. In Romania. Studying dragons. We could send Norbert to him. Charlie can take care of him and then put him back in the wild!"**

**"Brilliant!" said Ron. "How about it, Hagrid?"**

**And in the end, Hagrid agreed that they could send an owl to Charlie to ask him.**

**The following week dragged by. Wednesday night found Hermione and Harry sitting alone in the common room, long after everyone else had gone to bed.**

**The clock on the wall had just chimed midnight when the portrait hole burst open. Ron appeared out of nowhere as he pulled off Harry's invisibility cloak.**

**He had been down at Hagrid's hut, helping him feed Norbert, who was now eating dead rats by the crate.**

"I'm a little confused. Did you three skip Astronomy?" Cho asked.

"We had Astronomy that day?" Harry asked Hermione.

"This was more important, and I don't think we did."

**"It bit me!" he said, showing them his hand, which was wrapped in a bloody handkerchief. "I'm not going to be able to hold a quill for a week. I tell you, that dragon's the most horrible animal I've ever met, but the way Hagrid goes on about it, you'd think it was a fluffy little bunny rabbit. When it bit me he told me off for frightening it. And when I left, he was singing it a lullaby."**

"Hagrid's lost it," Fred gasped.

"You should go see the nurse, Ridgebacks are poisonous." Charlie said, his face pale. That did nothing to ease the nerves of the other brothers.

**There was a tap on the dark window.**

**"It's Hedwig!" said Harry, hurrying to let her in. "She'll have Charlie's answer!"**

**The three of them put their heads together to read the note.**

_**Dear Ron,** _

_**How are you? Thanks for the letter—I'd be glad to take the Norwegian Ridgeback, but it won't be easy getting him here. I think the best thing will be to send him over with some friends of mine who are coming to visit me next week. Trouble is, they mustn't be seen carrying an illegal dragon.** _

_**Could you get the Ridgeback up the tallest tower at midnight on Saturday? They can meet you there and take him away while it's still dark.** _

_**Send me an answer as soon as possible.** _

_**Love,** _

_**Charlie** _

"Tell me Charlie," Bill asked. "What was going through your mind when you received a letter from our youngest brother telling you that he needed your help in transporting a _dragon._ "

Charlie grinned sheepishly; he'd been so excited at the prospect of a new dragon that he didn't think of anything else.

**They looked at one another.**

**"We've got the invisibility cloak," said Harry. "It shouldn't be too difficult—I think the cloaks big enough to cover two of us and Norbert."**

"Yes, it did." Harry grinned at the memory.

**It was a mark of how bad the last week had been that the other two agreed with him. Anything to get rid of Norbert—and Malfoy.**

"It wouldn't get rid of Malfoy," Oliver said confused.

"It'd get him off our back," Harry explained.

"Oh."

**There was a hitch.**

"There's always a hitch," Angelia sighed.

**By the next morning, Ron's bitten hand had swollen to twice its usual size. He didn't know whether it was safe to go to Madam Pomfrey—would she recognize a dragon bite?**

"I think she would," Katie told them. "She is a healer after all."

**By the afternoon, though, he had no choice. he cut had turned a nasty shade of green. It looked as if Norbert's fangs were poisonous.**

"Told you," Charlie said, but his face was pale. He didn't know any one who survived a bite from a Ridgeback.

**Harry and Hermione rushed up to the hospital wing at the end of the day to find Ron in a terrible state in bed.**

**"It's not just my hand," he whispered, "although that feels like it's about to fall off. Malfoy told Madam Pomfrey he wanted to borrow one of my books so he could come and have a good laugh at me. He kept threatening to tell her what really bit me—I've told her it was a dog, but I don't think she believes me—I shouldn't have hit him at the Quidditch match, that's why he's doing this."**

"But it felt so good," Ron said with a grin.

**Harry and Hermione tried to calm Ron down.**

**"It'll all be over at midnight on Saturday," said Hermione, but this didn't soothe Ron at all. On the contrary, he sat bolt upright and broke into a sweat.**

"What's wrong?" Percy and the twins asked, worried.

**"Midnight on Saturday!" he said in a hoarse voice. "Oh no oh no—I've just remembered—Charlie's letter was in that book Malfoy took, he's going to know we're getting rid of Norbert."**

"Why did you keep it in one of your books?" Hermione asked, curious now that the event was over.

"So I wouldn't forget the date or lose the letter. I didn't want Hagrid in trouble."

**Harry and Hermione didn't get a chance to answer. Madam Pomfrey came over at that moment and made them leave, saying Ron needed sleep.**

**"It's too late to change the plan now," Harry told Hermione. "We haven't got time to send Charlie another owl, and this could be our only chance to get rid of Norbert. We'll have to risk it. And we** _**have** _ **got the invisibility cloak, Malfoy doesn't know about that."**

**They found Fang, the boarhound, sitting outside with a bandaged tail when they went to tell Hagrid, who opened a window to talk to them.**

**"I won't let you in," he puffed. "Norbert's at a tricky stage—nothin' I can't handle."**

"Well, that's true. Nothing seems to be able to hurt Hagrid," Lee smiled.

**When they told him about Charlie's letter, his eyes filled with tears, although that might have been because Norbert had just bitten him on the leg.**

**"Aargh! It's all right, he only got my boot—jus' playin'—he's only a baby, after all."**

"Hagrid, by now that 'baby' would be about the length of your boot." Charlie groaned. "It's not a baby!"

**The baby banged its tail on the wall, making the windows rattle. Harry and Hermione walked back to the castle feeling Saturday couldn't come quickly enough.**

**They would have felt sorry for Hagrid when the time came for him to say good-bye to Norbert if they hadn't been so worried about what they had to do. It was a very dark, cloudy night, and they were a bit late arriving at Hagrid's hut because they'd had to wait for Peeves to get out of their way in the entrance hall, where he'd been playing tennis against the wall.**

**Hagrid had Norbert packed and ready in a large crate.**

**"He's got lots o' rats an' some brandy fer the journey," said Hagrid in a muffled voice. "An' I've packed his teddy bear in case he gets lonely."**

"A teddy bear?" Bill asked.

**From inside the crate came ripping noises that sounded to Harry as though the teddy was having his head torn off.**

"Poor teddy bear," Alicia giggled.

**"Bye-bye, Norbert!" Hagrid sobbed, as Harry and Hermione covered the crate with the invisibility cloak and stepped underneath it themselves. "Mommy will never forget you!"**

"You know, Norbert is really a girl," Charlie said.

"How do you know?" Ron asked.

"They're more vicious."

**How they managed to get the crate back up to the castle, they never knew. Midnight ticked nearer as they heaved Norbert up the marble staircase in the entrance hall and along the dark corridors. Up another staircase, then another—even one of Harry's shortcuts didn't make the work much easier.**

**"Nearly there!" Harry panted as they reached the corridor beneath the tallest tower.**

**Then a sudden movement ahead of them made them almost drop the crate. Forgetting that they were already invisible, they shrank into the shadows, staring at the dark outlines of two people grappling with each other ten feet away. A lamp flared.**

**Professor McGonagall, in a tartan bathrobe and a hair net, had Malfoy by the ear.**

"Go McGonagall!" the twins and Lee yelled.

**"Detention!" she shouted. "And twenty points from Slytherin! Wandering around in the middle of the night, how** _**dare** _ **you—"**

**"You don't understand, Professor. Harry Potter's coming—he's got a dragon!"**

**"What utter rubbish! How dare you tell such lies! Come on—I shall see Professor Snape about you, Malfoy!"**

Katie and Alicia paled a little as they also remembered what happened the day or two after this event. Oliver might actually kill them.

**The steep spiral staircase up to the top of the tower seemed the easiest thing in the world after that. Not until they'd stepped out into the cold night air did they throw off the cloak, glad to be able to breathe properly again. Hermione did a sort of jig.**

**"Malfoy's got detention! I could sing!"**

"I could too!" Ron chuckled.

**"Don't," Harry advised her.**

"Is that because she can't sing—"

"—or because you're carrying an illegal dragon?"

"The dragon part," Hermione said with a glare to the twins.

**Chuckling about Malfoy, they waited, Norbert thrashing about in his crate. About ten minutes later, four broomsticks came swooping down out of the darkness.**

**Charlie's friends were a cheery lot. They showed Harry and Hermione the harness they'd rigged up, so they could suspend Norbert between them. They all helped buckle Norbert safely into it and then Harry and Hermione shook hands with the others and thanked them very much.**

**At last, Norbert was going... going...** _**gone** _

Everyone breathed a deep sigh of relief. Well all but the Trio and Neville.

**They slipped back down the spiral staircase, their hearts as light as their hands, now that Norbert was off them. No more dragon—Malfoy in detention—what could spoil their happiness?**

"Now you've jinxed it," Katie moaned.

**The answer to that was waiting at the foot of the stairs. As they stepped into the corridor, Filch's face loomed suddenly out of the darkness.**

"That would ruin anyone's happiness," Lee told them.

" **Well, well, well," he whispered, "we** _ **are**_ **in trouble."**

**They'd left the invisibility cloak on top of the tower.**

"Well that was idiotic," Percy said shaking his head. "Chapter's over. Lee, you're up."

Lee took the book and grinned. "The next chapter is called The Forbidden Forest."

"What?" Charlie, Bill and Oliver yelped.


	15. Chapter 15

" **The Forbidden Forest,"** Lee read.

**Things couldn't have been worse.**

"I was wrong," Harry muttered.

**Filch took them down to Professor McGonagall's study on the first floor, where they sat and waited without saying a word to each other. Hermione was trembling. Excuses, alibis, and wild cover-up stories chased each other around Harry's brain, each more feeble than the last.**

"Always go out with an excuse. Rule of mischief number four," Fred told the younger students.

**He couldn't see how they were going to get out of trouble this time. They were cornered. How could they have been so stupid as to forget the cloak?**

"That was pretty dumb," Percy nodded his head.

**There was no reason on earth that Professor McGonagall would accept for their being out of bed and creeping around the school in the dead of night, let alone being up the tallest astronomy tower, which was out-of-bounds except for classes. Add Norbert and the invisibility cloak, and they might as well be packing their bags already.**

**Had Harry thought that things couldn't have been worse? He was wrong. When Professor McGonagall appeared, she was leading Neville.**

"Oh no!" Katie cried.

**"Harry!" Neville burst out, the moment he saw the other two. "I was trying to find you to warn you, I heard Malfoy saying he was going to catch you, he said you had a drag—"**

**Harry shook his head violently to shut Neville up, but Professor McGonagall had seen. She looked more likely to breathe fire than Norbert as she towered over the three of them.**

"I love the way your mind works," Cedric said with a chuckle.

 **"I would never have believed it of any of you. Mr** **Filch says you were up in the astronomy tower. It's one o'clock in the morning.** _ **Explain yourselves**_ **."**

**It was the first time Hermione had ever failed to answer a teacher's question. She was staring at her slippers, as still as a statue.**

**"I think I've got a good idea of what's been going on," said Professor McGonagall. "It doesn't take a genius to work it out. You fed Draco Malfoy some cock-and-bull story about a dragon, trying to get him out of bed and into trouble.**

"Glad to know it wasn't a cock-and-bull story," Neville told the trio.

**I've already caught him. I suppose you think it's funny that Longbottom here heard the story and believed it, too?"**

**Harry caught Neville's eye and tried to tell him without words that this wasn't true, because Neville was looking stunned and hurt. Poor, blundering Neville—Harry knew what it must have cost him to try and find them in the dark, to warn them.**

**"I'm disgusted," said Professor McGonagall. "Four students out of bed in one night! I've never heard of such a thing before!You, Miss Granger, I thought you had more sense. As for you, Mr. Potter, I thought Gryffindor meant more to you than this.**

"She knows how to lay the guilt trip," Bill said impressed.

**All three of you will receive detentions—yes, you too, Mr. Longbottom,** _**nothing** _ **gives you the right to walk around school at night, especially these days, it's very dangerous—and fifty points will be taken from Gryffindor."**

"No!" Charlie moaned.

"Isn't that a bit harsh?" Cho asked. "I mean, she only took twenty off of Slytherin."

**"** _**Fifty?** _ **" Harry gasped—they would lose the lead, the lead he'd won in the last Quidditch match.**

"Don't question her!" Fred and George yelled.

**"Fifty points** _**each** _ **,"**

"You had to question her?" Lee moaned.

**said Professor McGonagall, breathing heavily through her long, pointed nose.**

"Ha! We've seen her worse," Fred said.

**"Professor—please—"**

**"You** _**can't—** _ **"**

**"Don't tell me what I can and can't do, Potter. Now get back to bed, all of you. I've never been more ashamed of Gryffindor students."**

**A hundred and fifty points lost.**

"We know!" All the Gryffindors yelled at the book.

**That put Gryffindor in last place. In one night, they'd ruined any chance Gryffindor had had for the house cup. Harry felt as though the bottom had dropped out of his stomach. How could they ever make up for this?**

"We'll find a way," Ron chuckled and whispered to Harry.

**Harry didn't sleep all night. He could hear Neville sobbing into his pillow for what seemed like hours. Harry couldn't think of anything to say to comfort him. He knew Neville, like himself, was dreading the dawn. What would happen when the rest of Gryffindor found out what they'd done?**

"Found out fast enough," Harry muttered.

**At first, Gryffindors passing the giant hourglasses that recorded the house points the next day thought there'd been a mistake. How could they suddenly have a hundred and fifty points fewer than yesterday? And then the story started to spread: Harry Potter, the famous Harry Potter, their hero of two Quidditch matches, had lost them all those points, him and a couple of other stupid first years.**

**From being one of the most popular and admired people at the school, Harry was suddenly the most hated.**

"Fair weather fans," Hermione huffed.

**Even Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs turned on him, because everyone had been longing to see Slytherin lose the house cup.**

Cho and Cedric felt a twinge of guilt. While they hadn't partaken in this, it was still their houses.

 **Everywhere Harry went, people pointed and didn't trouble to lower their voices as they insulted him.** **Slytherins, on the other hand, clapped as he walked past them, whistling and cheering, "Thanks Potter, we owe you one!"**

"Those gits!" Charlie yelled. Cho and Cedric glanced at each other and then Cedric said, "Harry, I'd like to apologize on behalf of Hufflepuff house for the way you were treated last year."

"And I for Ravenclaw," Cho said. Harry smiled.

"Apologies accepted," he told them.

**Only Ron stood by him.**

"Of course I did," Ron said wrapping an arm around Harry's shoulders.

"Hey! I stood by him too!" Hermione exclaimed. 

**"They'll all forget this in a few weeks. Fred and George have lost loads of points in all the time they've been here, and people still like them."**

"Yes well—"

"—we're very likeable." the twins said.

**"They've never lost a hundred and fifty points in one go, though, have they?" said Harry miserably.**

**"Well—no," Ron admitted.**

**It was a bit late to repair the damage, but Harry swore to himself not to meddle in things that weren't his business from now on.**

"Nice one Harry," Hermione giggled.

**He'd had it with sneaking around and spying. He felt so ashamed of himself that he went to Wood and offered to resign from the Quidditch team.**

"I don't understand, resign?" Charlie gasped.

"You'll see," Harry sighed.

**"** _**Resign?** _ **" Wood thundered. "What good'll that do? How are we going to get any points back if we can't win at Quidditch?"**

**But even Quidditch had lost its fun. The rest of the team wouldn't speak to Harry during practice, and if they had to speak about him, they called him "the Seeker."**

"I'm sorry?" Oliver hissed glancing at his team. "I really hope I misheard Lee."

The fact that Katie was trying to avoid his eye told him everything he needed to know.

"Captain's office now!" he ordered. Fred and George ran for the door. "Hold the reading Lee," Oliver told him and followed his team. When he got in there, he shut the door and glared. "How could you?" he came right out and said. "I had no clue what was going on."

"Oliver—" Alicia tried to speak but Oliver cut her off.

"Harry was a first year. A _first_ year and you all treated him like something you would scrape off the back of your shoe. Alicia, how many points did you lose when you managed to blow up the library?"

"Two hundred," said girl said softly.

"And were you treated like dirt by the rest of the team?" Oliver asked. "No. So what gave you the right to treat your fellow team mate like that?"

"Oliv—" Katie said softly but was cut off as well.

"We are a team. A _team_ I say. We do not treat each other like dirt and if we have a problem, we come to the _captain_. Understand?"

At everyone's nod, he pointed to the door and said "Let's go and finish this chapter."

Fred and George again scrambled for the door in case Oliver decided to rant some more. Those two were met with glares from their three brothers as well. As they sat down, Angelina and Katie said "Harry, we're really sorry about how we acted last year."

"We are too," Alicia and the twins said. "Can you forgive us?"

Harry thought for a minute. They did treat him rather poorly but on the other hand he thought the twins had earned his forgiveness for rescuing him from the Dursley's this summer.

"Of course I can," he said with a smile.

**Hermione and Neville were suffering, too. They didn't have as bad a time as Harry, because they weren't as well-known, but nobody would speak to them, either. Hermione had stopped drawing attention to herself in class, keeping her head down and working in silence.**

Oliver shot his team a glare, well with the exception of Harry. Even though he hadn't known Hermione back then, they were all Gryffindors and they had all lost points at some point in their school careers. Despite the apology Harry had been given, the twins and Alicia, Katie and Angelina bowed their heads in shame; along with Lee and Percy.

"You know," Neville whispered to Ron. "If Hermione could have answered a few questions, we'd won all those points back in a day."

**Harry was almost glad that the exams weren't far away. All the studying he had to do kept his mind off his misery. He, Ron, and Hermione kept to themselves, working late into the night, trying to remember the ingredients in complicated potions, learn charms and spells by heart, memorize the dates of magical discoveries and goblin rebellions...**

**Then, about a week before the exams were due to start, Harry's new resolution not to interfere in anything that didn't concern him was put to an unexpected test.**

"Why am I not surprised?" Ron chuckled.

**Walking back from the library on his own one afternoon, he heard somebody whimpering from a classroom up ahead. As he drew closer, he heard Quirrell's voice.**

**"No—no—not again, please—"**

"What's happening?" George asked.

**It sounded as though someone was threatening him. Harry moved closer.**

**"All right—all right—" he heard Quirrell sob.**

"Oh," Alicia cried. "Poor Quirrell!"

"Poor Quirrell, my ass," Ron muttered under his breath.

**Next second, Quirrell came hurrying out of the classroom straightening his turban. He was pale and looked as though he was about to cry. He strode out of sight; Harry didn't think Quirrell had even noticed him. He waited until Quirrell's footsteps had disappeared, then peered into the classroom. It was empty, but a door stood ajar at the other end. Harry was halfway toward it before he remembered what he'd promised himself about not meddling.**

"So it lasted longer than I thought," Hermione teased.

"150 points," Harry hissed. "Plus the entire house hating me, you, Neville, and the rest of the first years."

The rest of the Quidditch team—except for Oliver—looked down in guilt. Oliver was right; they didn't act much like a team.

**All the same, he'd have gambled twelve Philosopher's Stones that Snape had just left the room, and from what Harry had just heard, Snape would be walking with a new spring in his step—Quirrell seemed to have given in at last.**

"Oh no!" Lee cried.

**Harry went back to the library, where Hermione was testing Ron on Astronomy. Harry told them what he'd heard.**

**"Snape's done it, then!" said Ron. "If Quirrell's told him how to break his Anti-Dark Force spell—"**

**"There's still Fluffy, though," said Hermione.**

"I'm still amazed that Hagrid named a three headed dog Fluffy," Katie chuckled.

**"Maybe Snape's found out how to get past him without asking Hagrid," said Ron, looking up at the thousands of books surrounding them. "I bet there's a book somewhere in here telling you how to get past a giant three-headed dog. So what do we do, Harry?"**

**The light of adventure was kindling again in Ron's eyes, but Hermione answered before Harry could.**

**"Go to Dumbledore. That's what we should have done ages ago. If we try anything ourselves we'll be thrown out for sure."**

"Aren't you the smartest witch of your age and Harry the boy who lived?" Fred asked. "They're not going to throw you out of school."

**"But we've got no** _**proof** _ **!" said Harry. "Quirrell's too scared to back us up. Snape's only got to say he doesn't know how the troll got in at Halloween and that he was nowhere near the third floor—who do you think they'll believe, him or us? It's not exactly a secret we hate him, Dumbledore'll think we made it up to get him sacked. Filch wouldn't help us if his life depended on it, he's too friendly with Snape, and the more students get thrown out, the better, he'll think. And don't forget, we're not supposed to know about the Stone or Fluffy. That'll take a lot of explaining."**

"He's Dumbledore," Charlie said. "If he can trust Snape, he would believe you."

**Hermione looked convinced, but Ron didn't.**

**"If we just do a bit of poking around—"**

**"No," said Harry flatly, "we've done enough poking around."**

**He pulled a map of Jupiter toward him and started to learn the names of its moons.**

**The following morning, notes were delivered to Harry, Hermione, and Neville at the breakfast table. They were all the same:**

_**Your detention will take place at eleven o'clock tonight.** _

_**Meet Mr. Filch in the entrance hall.** _

_**Professor McGonagall** _

"Your detention was in the forbidden forest?" Katie asked.

"Yep." Harry said, popping the 'p'.

**Harry had forgotten they still had detentions to do in the furor over the points they'd lost. He half expected Hermione to complain that this was a whole night of studying lost, but she didn't say a word. Like Harry, she felt they deserved what they'd got.**

**At eleven o'clock that night, they said good-bye to Ron in the common room and went down to the entrance hall with Neville. Filch was already there—and so was Malfoy. Harry had also forgotten that Malfoy had gotten a detention, too.**

**"Follow me," said Filch, lighting a lamp and leading them outside.**

"Do we have to?" Harry muttered.

 **I bet you'll think twice about breaking a school rule again, won't you, eh?" he said, leering at them. "Oh yes... hard work and pain are the best teachers if you ask me... It's just a pity they let the old punishments die out... hang you by your wrists from the ceiling for a few days, I've got the chains still in my office, keep 'em well oiled in case they're ever needed...** **Right, off we go, and don't think of running off, now, it'll be worse for you if you do."**

"Why is he still working here?" Charlie asked.

**They marched off across the dark grounds. Neville kept sniffing. Harry wondered what their punishment was going to be. It must be something really horrible, or Filch wouldn't be sounding so delighted.**

"Flich is an evil bastard," Bill said. "Anything involving pain would make him happy."

**The moon was bright, but clouds scudding across it kept throwing them into darkness. Ahead, Harry could see the lighted windows of Hagrid's hut. Then they heard a distant shout.**

**"Is that you, Filch? Hurry up, I want ter get started."**

**Harry's heart rose; if they were going to be working with Hagrid it wouldn't be so bad. His relief must have showed in his face, because Filch said, "I suppose you think you'll be enjoying yourself with that oaf? Well, think again, boy—it's into the forest you're going and I'm much mistaken if you'll all come out in one piece."**

**At this, Neville let out a little moan, and Malfoy stopped dead in his tracks.**

"Ah Malfoy. You provide us with great entertainment," Cedric chuckled.

**"The forest?" he repeated, and he didn't sound quite as cool as usual."We can't go in there at night—there's all sorts of things in there—werewolves, I heard."**

"That's nice Filch. Get them scared _before_ they have to go into the forest. Really nice tactic." George said.

"That was sarcasm right?" Fred asked.

"Ya think?"

**Neville clutched the sleeve of Harry's robe and made a choking noise.**

**"That's your problem, isn't it?" said Filch, his voice cracking with glee. "Should've thought of them werewolves before you got in trouble, shouldn't you?"**

"Oh yes—"

"—because we always think about werewolves before we decide to break rules."

**Hagrid came striding toward them out of the dark, Fang at his heel. He was carrying his large crossbow, and a quiver of arrows hung over his shoulder.**

**"Abou' time," he said. "I bin waitin' fer half an hour already. All right, Harry, Hermione?"**

**"I shouldn't be too friendly to them, Hagrid," said Filch coldly, they're here to be punished, after all."**

**"That's why yer late, is it?" said Hagrid, frowning at Filch. "Bin lecturin' them, eh? 'Snot your place ter do that. Yeh've done yer bit, I'll take over from here."**

**"I'll be back at dawn," said Filch, "for what's left of them," he added nastily, and he turned and started back toward the castle, his lamp bobbing away in the darkness.**

**Malfoy now turned to Hagrid.**

**"I'm not going in that forest," he said, and Harry was pleased to hear the note of panic in his voice.**

"Good, it's the git's fault you're all out there." Lee said.

**"Yeh are if yeh want ter stay at Hogwarts," said Hagrid fiercely. "Yeh've done wrong an' now yehve got ter pay fer it."**

**"But this is servant stuff, it's not for students to do. I thought we'd be copying lines or something, if my father knew I was doing this, he'd—"**

**"—tell yer that's how it is at Hogwarts,"** **Hagrid growled. "Copyin' lines! What good's that ter anyone. Yeh'll do summat useful or yeh'll get out. If yeh think yer father'd rather you were expelled, then get back off ter the castle an' pack. Go on."**

**Malfoy didn't move. He looked at Hagrid furiously, but then dropped his gaze.**

"Drat."

**"Right then," said Hagrid, "now, listen carefully, 'cause it's dangerous what we're gonna do tonight, an' I don' want no one takin' risks. Follow me over here a moment."**

**He led them to the very edge of the forest. Holding his lamp up high, he pointed down a narrow, winding earth track that disappeared into the thick black trees. A light breeze lifted their hair as they looked into the forest.**

**"Look there," said Hagrid, "see that stuff shinin' on the ground? Silvery stuff? That's unicorn blood. There's a unicorn in there bin hurt badly by summat. This is the second time in a week. I found one dead last Wednesday. We're gonna try an' find the poor thing. We might have ter put it out of its misery."**

**"And what if whatever hurt the unicorn finds us first?" said Malfoy, unable to keep the fear out of his voice.**

"Malfoy's afraid?" Ron and the twins asked, failing to keep the glee out of their voices.

**"There's nothin' that lives in the forest that'll hurt yeh if yer with me or Fang," said Hagrid. "An' keep ter the path. Right, now, we're gonna split inter two parties an' follow the trail in diff'rent directions. There's blood all over the place, it must've bin staggerin' around since last night at least."**

**"I want Fang," said Malfoy quickly, looking at Fang's long teeth.**

"That dog's a ruddy coward," Charlie chuckled.

**"All right, but I warn yeh, he's a coward," said Hagrid. " So me, Harry, an' Hermione'll go one way an' Draco, Neville, an' Fang'll go the other.**

"That'll be a mistake," Fred said.

**Now, if any of us finds the unicorn, we'll send up green sparks, right? Get yer wands out an' practice now— that's it—an' if anyone gets in trouble, send up red sparks, an' we'll all come an' find yeh—so, be careful—let's go."**

**The forest was black and silent.**

"Odd phrase," Lee piped up.

**A little way into it they reached a fork in the earth path, and Harry, Hermione, and Hagrid took the left path while Malfoy, Neville, and Fang took the right.**

**They walked in silence, their eyes on the ground. Every now and then a ray of moonlight through the branches above lit a spot of silver-blue blood on the fallen leaves.**

**Harry saw that Hagrid looked very worried.**

**"** _**Could** _ **a werewolf be killing the unicorns?" Harry asked.**

**"Not fast enough," said Hagrid. "It's not easy ter catch a unicorn, they're powerful magic creatures. I never knew one ter be hurt before."**

**They walked past a mossy tree stump. Harry could hear running water; there must be a stream somewhere close by. There were still spots of unicorn blood here and there along the winding path.**

**"You all right, Hermione?" Hagrid whispered. "Don' worry, it can't've gone far if it's this badly hurt, an' then we'll be able ter—GET BEHIND THAT TREE!"**

"What is it?" Katie, Alicia and Cho yelled.

**Hagrid seized Harry and Hermione and hoisted them off the path behind a towering oak. He pulled out an arrow and fitted it into his crossbow, raising it, ready to fire. The three of them listened. Something was slithering over dead leaves nearby: it sounded like a cloak trailing along the ground. Hagrid was squinting up the dark path, but after a few seconds, the sound faded away.**

**"I knew it, " he murmured. "There's summat in here that shouldn' be."**

**"A werewolf?" Harry suggested.**

**"That wasn' no werewolf an' it wasn' no unicorn, neither," said Hagrid grimly. "Right, follow me, but careful, now."**

**They walked more slowly, ears straining for the faintest sound. Suddenly, in a clearing ahead, something definitely moved.**

**"Who's there?" Hagrid called. "Show yerself—I'm armed!"**

**And into the clearing came—was it a man, or a horse?**

"Centaurs," Cho and Charlie said at the same time.

**To the waist, a man, with red hair and beard, but below that was a horse's gleaming chestnut body with a long, reddish tail. Harry and Hermione's jaws dropped.**

"Not the thing to do when meeting a centaur," Charlie said with a chuckle.

**"Oh, it's you, Ronan," said Hagrid in relief. "How are yeh?"**

**He walked forward and shook the centaur's hand.**

**"Good evening to you, Hagrid," said Ronan. He had a deep, sorrowful voice. "Were you going to shoot me?"**

**"Can't be too careful, Ronan," said Hagrid, patting his crossbow. "There's summat bad loose in this forest. This is Harry Potter an' Hermione Granger, by the way. Students up at the school. An' this is Ronan, you two. He's a centaur."**

**"We'd noticed," said Hermione faintly.**

**"Good evening," said Ronan. "Students, are you? And do you learn much, up at the school?"**

**"Erm—"**

**"A bit," said Hermione timidly.**

"A bit, Hermione?" Fred chuckled.

"I'm muggle born," Hermione said in defense. "To people like me, centaurs aren't real."

**"A bit. Well, that's something." Ronan sighed. He flung back his head and stared at the sky. "Mars is bright tonight."**

Hermione paled. Mars was the god of war in Roman mythology. That couldn't be good if it was bright.

**"Yeah," said Hagrid, glancing up, too. "Listen, I'm glad we've run inter yeh, Ronan, 'cause there's a unicorn bin hurt—you seen anythin'?"**

"He's a centaur. He's not going to help," Charlie glared at the book.

**Ronan didn't answer immediately. He stared unblinkingly upward, then sighed again.**

**"Always the innocent are the first victims," he said. "So it has been for ages past, so it is now."**

**"Yeah," said Hagrid, "but have yeh seen anythin', Ronan? Anythin' unusual?"**

**"Mars is bright tonight," Ronan repeated, while Hagrid watched him impatiently. "Unusually bright."**

"But he already said that," Fred said rolling his eyes.

**"Yeah, but I was meanin' anythin' unusual a bit nearer home, said Hagrid. "So yeh haven't noticed anythin' strange?"**

**Yet again, Ronan took a while to answer. At last, he said, "The forest hides many secrets."**

"That's not what Hagrid meant though," Cho huffed.

**A movement in the trees behind Ronan made Hagrid raise his bow again, but it was only a second centaur, black-haired and -bodied and wilder-looking than Ronan.**

**"Hullo, Bane," said Hagrid. "All right?"**

"This'll be fun," Harry muttered.

**"Good evening, Hagrid, I hope you are well?"**

**"Well enough. Look, I've jus' bin askin' Ronan, you seen anythin' odd in here lately? There's a unicorn bin injured—would yeh know anythin' about it?"**

**Bane walked over to stand next to Ronan. He looked skyward.**

**"Mars is bright tonight," he said simply.**

"Can't they say anything else?" Ron moaned.

**"We've heard," said Hagrid grumpily. "Well, if either of you do see anythin', let me know, won't yeh? We'll be off, then."**

**Harry and Hermione followed him out of the clearing, staring over their shoulders at Ronan and Bane until the trees blocked their view.**

**"Never," said Hagrid irritably, "try an' get a straight answer out of a centaur. Ruddy stargazers. Not interested in anythin' closer'n the moon."**

**"Are there many of** _**them** _ **in here?" asked Hermione.**

**"Oh, a fair few... Keep themselves to themselves mostly, but they're good enough about turnin' up if ever I want a word. They're deep, mind, centaurs... they know things... jus' don' let on much."**

**"D'you think that was a centaur we heard earlier?" said Harry.**

**"Did that sound like hooves to you? Nah, if yeh ask me, that was what's bin killin' the unicorns—never heard anythin' like it before."**

**They walked on through the dense, dark trees. Harry kept looking nervously over his shoulder. He had the nasty feeling they were being watched. He was very glad they had Hagrid and his crossbow with them. They had just passed a bend in the path when Hermione grabbed Hagrid's arm.**

**"Hagrid! Look! Red sparks, the others are in trouble!"**

"Oh no!" Katie cried. "Were you alright?" she asked Neville.

**"You two wait here!" Hagrid shouted. "Stay on the path, I'll come back for yeh!"**

**They heard him crashing away through the undergrowth and stood looking at each other, very scared, until they couldn't hear anything but the rustling of leaves around them.**

**"You don't think they've been hurt, do you?" whispered Hermione.**

**"I don't care if Malfoy has, but if something's got Neville... it's our fault he's here in the first place."**

"Thanks Harry," Neville said softly.

**The minutes dragged by. Their ears seemed sharper than usual. Harry's seemed to be picking up every sigh of the wind, every cracking twig. What was going on? Where were the others?**

**At last, a great crunching noise announced Hagrid's return. Malfoy, Neville, and Fang were with him. Hagrid was fuming. Malfoy, it seemed, had sneaked up behind Neville and grabbed him as a joke. Neville had panicked and sent up the sparks.**

"Git," Charlie huffed. "The Forest is no place for games."

**"We'll be lucky ter catch anythin' now, with the racket you two were makin'. Right, we're changin' groups—Neville, you stay with me an' Hermione, Harry, you go with Fang an' this idiot.**

**I'm sorry," Hagrid added in a whisper to Harry, "but he'll have a harder time frightenin' you, an' we've gotta get this done."**

**So Harry set off into the heart of the forest with Malfoy and Fang. They walked for nearly half an hour, deeper and deeper into the forest, until the path became almost impossible to follow because the trees were so thick. Harry thought the blood seemed to be getting thicker. There were splashes on the roots of a tree, as though the poor creature had been thrashing around in pain close by. Harry could see a clearing ahead, through the tangled branches of an ancient oak.**

**"Look—" he murmured, holding out his arm to stop Malfoy.**

"Why?" the twins asked.

"I don't know," Harry shrugged.

**Something bright white was gleaming on the ground. They inched closer.**

"Don't!" Cedric yelled. "You're in the Forbidden Forest! It's not called that because of friendly things that roam in there!"

"Aw thanks Cedric. Way to make us feel all warm and fuzzy inside," Cho shot him a glare.

**It was the unicorn all right, and it was dead. Harry had never seen anything so beautiful and sad. Its long, slender legs were stuck out at odd angles where it had fallen and its mane was spread pearly-white on the dark leaves.**

"That poor unicorn," Katie sniffed, wiping tears from her eyes.

**Harry had taken one step toward it when a slithering sound made him freeze where he stood. A bush on the edge of the clearing quivered... Then, out of the shadows, a hooded figure came crawling across the ground like some stalking beast. Harry, Malfoy, and Fang stood transfixed. The cloaked figure reached the unicorn, lowered its head over the wound in the animal's side, and began to drink its blood.**

"That is sick! Sick and wrong!" Charlie yelled.

"Run Harry!" Angelina, Katie, Cho, Alicia and the twins yelled.

**"AAAAAAAAAARGH!"**

"Lee! You're worse than Fred!" Hermione jumped a mile when Lee screamed.

**Malfoy let out a terrible scream and bolted—so did Fang.**

Everyone couldn't help but chuckle at the words.

**The hooded figure raised its head and looked right at Harry—unicorn blood was dribbling down its front. It got to its feet and came swiftly toward Harry—he couldn't move for fear.**

**Then a pain like he'd never felt before pierced his head; it was as though his scar were on fire.**

"What's going on?" Cho gasped.

**Half blinded, he staggered backward. He heard hooves behind him, galloping, and something jumped clean over Harry, charging at the figure.**

**The pain in Harry's head was so bad he fell to his knees. It took a minute or two to pass. When he looked up, the figure had gone. A centaur was standing over him, not Ronan or Bane; this one looked younger; he had white-blond hair and a palomino body.**

**"Are you all right?" said the centaur, pulling Harry to his feet.**

"Yes, I'm perfect and going to go skipping away now," Harry said rolling his eyes.

**"Yes—thank you—what was that?"**

**The centaur didn't answer. He had astonishingly blue eyes, like pale sapphires. He looked carefully at Harry, his eyes lingering on the scar that stood out, livid, on Harry's forehead.**

**"You are the Potter boy," he said. "You had better get back to Hagrid. The forest is not safe at this time—especially for you. Can you ride? It will be quicker this way. My name is Firenze," he added, as he lowered himself on to his front legs so that Harry could clamber onto his back.**

"You..he…what?" Charlie gasped out an answer. Everyone else was just staring at Harry.

"What?"

"It's very rare for centaurs to let humans ride them," Bill explained.

**There was suddenly a sound of more galloping from the other side of the clearing. Ronan and Bane came bursting through the trees, their flanks heaving and sweaty.**

**"Firenze!" Bane thundered. "What are you doing? You have a human on your back! Have you no shame? Are you a common mule?"**

"No, he's just trying to help a first year." Bill glared at the book.

**"Do you realize who this is?" said Firenze. "This is the Potter boy. The quicker he leaves this forest, the better."**

"We quite agree," Everyone nodded.

**"What have you been telling him?" growled Bane. "Remember, Firenze, we are sworn not to set ourselves against the heavens. Have we not read what is to come in the movements of the planets?"**

"Oh no! What ever will we do?" Fred said in mock horror.

**Ronan pawed the ground nervously. "I'm sure Firenze thought he was acting for the best, " he said in his gloomy voice.**

**Bane kicked his back legs in anger.** " **For the best! What is that to do with us? Centaurs are concerned with what has been foretold! It is not our business to run around like donkeys after stray humans in our forest!"**

"I dislike this centaur," Charlie said with a huff.

**Firenze suddenly reared on to his hind legs in anger, so that Harry had to grab his shoulders to stay on.**

**"Do you not see that unicorn?" Firenze bellowed at Bane. "Do you not understand why it was killed? Or have the planets not let you in on that secret? I set myself against what is lurking in this forest, Bane, yes, with humans alongside me if I must."**

**And Firenze whisked around; with Harry clutching on as best he could, they plunged off into the trees, leaving Ronan and Bane behind them.**

**Harry didn't have a clue what was going on.**

"I was a little flustered," Harry chuckled.

"Completely understandable mate," Ron told him.

" **Why's Bane so angry?" he asked. "What was that thing you saved me from, anyway?"**

**Firenze slowed to a walk, warned Harry to keep his head bowed in case of low-hanging branches, but did not answer Harry's question. They made their way through the trees in silence for so long that Harry thought Firenze didn't want to talk to him anymore. They were passing through a particularly dense patch of trees, however, when Firenze suddenly stopped.**

**"Harry Potter, do you know what unicorn blood is used for?"**

"No," Cho, Cedric, Oliver…well everyone but the trio said.

**"No," said Harry, startled by the odd question. "We've only used the horn and tail hair in Potions."**

**"That is because it is a monstrous thing, to slay a unicorn," said Firenze. "Only one who has nothing to lose, and everything to gain, would commit such a crime. The blood of a unicorn will keep you alive, even if you are an inch from death, but at a terrible price. You have slain something pure and defenseless to save yourself, and you will have but a half-life, a cursed life, from the moment the blood touches your lips."**

"And that is why evil gits are idiots," Bill said with a nod of his head. Everyone else was disgusted at the thought.

**Harry stared at the back of Firenze's head, which was dappled silver in the moonlight.**

**"But who'd be that desperate?" he wondered aloud. "If you're going to be cursed forever, death's better, isn't it?"**

"Very wise Harry," Percy said with a nod.

**"It is," Firenze agreed, "unless all you need is to stay alive long enough to drink something else—something that will bring you back to full strength and power—something that will mean you can never die. Mr. Potter, do you know what is hidden in the school at this very moment?"**

"The Sorcerer's stone," Cho said, already not liking where this was going.

**"The Sorcerer's Stone! Of course—the Elixir of Life! But I don't understand who—"**

**"Can you think of nobody who has waited many years to return to power, who has clung to life, awaiting their chance?"**

"Holy shit!" Cedric gasped, but all the females were too shocked to hit him.

"No, no way," Oliver shook his head. "It can't be."

**It was as though an iron fist had clenched suddenly around Harry's heart. Over the rustling of the trees, he seemed to hear once more what Hagrid had told him on the night they had met: "Some say he died. Codswallop, in my opinion. Dunno if he had enough human left in him to die."**

**"Do you mean," Harry croaked, "that was Vol-"**

**"Harry! Harry, are you all right?"**

**Hermione was running toward them down the path, Hagrid puffing along behind her.**

**"I'm fine," said Harry, hardly knowing what he was saying. "The unicorn's dead, Hagrid, it's in that clearing back there."**

**"This is where I leave you," Firenze murmured as Hagrid hurried off to examine the unicorn. "You are safe now."**

**Harry slid off his back.**

**"Good luck, Harry Potter," said Firenze. "The planets have been read wrongly before now, even by centaurs. I hope this is one of those times."**

"I hope so too," Alicia said softly.

**He turned and cantered back into the depths of the forest, leaving Harry shivering behind him.**

**Ron had fallen asleep in the dark common room, waiting for them to return. He shouted something about Quidditch fouls when Harry roughly shook him awake.**

"Nice one Ron," Fred chuckled.

**In a matter of seconds, though, he was wide-eyed as Harry began to tell him and Hermione what had happened in the forest.**

**Harry couldn't sit down. He paced up and down in front of the fire. He was still shaking.**

" **Snape wants the stone for Voldemort...**

"Which is even worse than him wanting it for himself," Katie moaned.

**and Voldemort's waiting in the forest... and all this time we thought Snape just wanted to get rich..."**

The twins snorted.

**"Stop saying the name!" said Ron in a terrified whisper, as if he thought Voldemort could hear them.**

**Harry wasn't listening.**

"I thought something was distracting you," Ron whispered to Harry.

 **"Firenze saved me, but he shouldn't have done so... Bane was furious... he was talking about interfering with what the planets say is going to happen... They must show that Voldemort's** **coming back... Bane thinks Firenze should have let Voldemort** **kill me... I suppose that's written in the stars as well."**

**"** _**Will you stop saying the name!** _ **" Ron hissed.**

**"So all I've got to wait for now is Snape to steal the Stone,"**

"Harry!" Angelina said. "We've got to talk about you being so pessimistic."

 **Harry went on feverishly, "then Voldemort** **will be able to come and finish me off... Well, I suppose Bane'll be happy."**

**Hermione looked very frightened, but she had a word of comfort.**

"Glad I could help," Hermione smiled at Harry.

**"Harry, everyone says Dumbledore's the only one You-Know-Who was ever afraid of.**

"He is," Charlie and Oliver nodded.

**With Dumbledore around, You-Know-Who won't touch you. Anyway, who says the centaurs are right? It sounds like fortune-telling to me, and Professor McGonagall says that's a very imprecise branch of magic."**

**The sky had turned light before they stopped talking. They went to bed exhausted, their throats sore. But the night's surprises weren't over.**

**When Harry pulled back his sheets, he found his invisibility cloak folded neatly underneath them. There was a note pinned to it:**

_**Just in case** _

"That was lucky," Alicia commented. Lee closed the book and said "That's the end of the chapter. Who's next?"

"Neville, I think." Hermione said. Neville nodded and took the book from Lee. "The next chapter is called Through the Trap Door."

Everyone groaned at the thought.


	16. Chapter 16

" **Through the Trapdoor** **,"** Neville read.

Angelina groaned, but the twins looked excited. They never got the full story from Ron about what happened down there.

 **In years to come, Harry would never quite remember how he had managed to get through his exams when he half expected Voldemort** **to come bursting through the door at any moment.**

"I was not that paranoid," Harry protested.

"Umm mate?" Ron said. "You _were_ rather jumpy."

**Yet the days crept by, and there could be no doubt that Fluffy was still alive and well behind the locked door.**

**It was sweltering hot, especially in the large classroom where they did their written papers. They had been given special, new quills for the exams, which had been bewitched with an Anti-Cheating spell.**

"It's like they don't trust us," Lee pouted.

"I wonder why?" Katie said rolling her eyes.

**They had practical exams as well. Professor Flitwick called them one by one into his class to see if they could make a pineapple tap dance across a desk.**

**Professor McGonagall watched them turn a mouse into a snuffbox—points were given for how pretty the snuffbox was, but taken away if it had whiskers. Snape made them all nervous, breathing down their necks while they tried to remember how to make a Forgetfulness potion.**

"That's ironic," Cho mused.

**Harry did the best he could, trying to ignore the stabbing pains in his forehead, which had been bothering him ever since his trip into the forest.**

**Neville thought Harry had a bad case of exam nerves because Harry couldn't sleep, but the truth was that Harry kept being woken by his old nightmare, except that it was now worse than ever because there was a hooded figure dripping blood in it.**

"You dreamt about that?" Neville squeaked softly. Harry nodded.

 **Maybe it was because they hadn't seen what Harry had seen in the forest, or because they didn't have scars burning on their foreheads, but Ron and Hermione didn't seem as worried about the Stone as Harry. The idea of Voldemort** , **certainly scared them, but he didn't keep visiting them in dreams, and they were so busy with their studying they didn't have much time to fret about what Snape or anyone else might be up to.**

**Their very last exam was History of Magic. One hour of answering questions about batty old wizards who'd invented self-stirring cauldrons and they'd be free, free for a whole wonderful week until their exam results came out. When the ghost of Professor Binns told them to put down their quills and roll up their parchment, Harry couldn't help cheering with the rest.**

"I'd worry about you if you didn't," Ron told his friend.

 **"That was far easier than I thought it would be,"** **said Hermione as they joined the crowds flocking out onto the sunny grounds. "I needn't have learned about the 1637 Werewolf Code of Conduct or the uprising of Elfric the Eager."**

**Hermione always liked to go through their exam papers afterward, but Ron said this made him feel ill,**

"I think it makes all humans ill," Ron said.

"It doesn't make me ill," Percy said.

"Well that just proves you're not human," Fred said with a chuckle from everyone else.

**so they wandered down to the lake and flopped under a tree. The Weasley twins and Lee Jordan were tickling the tentacles of a giant squid, which was basking in the warm shallows.**

**"No more studying," Ron sighed happily, stretching out on the grass. "You could look more cheerful, Harry, we've got a week before we find out how badly we've done, there's no need to worry yet."**

**Harry was rubbing his forehead.**

**"I wish I knew what this means!" he burst out angrily. "My scar keeps hurting—it's happened before, but never as often as this."**

**"Go to Madam Pomfrey," Hermione suggested.**

**"I'm not ill," said Harry. "I think it's a warning... it means danger's coming..."**

**Ron couldn't get worked up, it was too hot.**

All the Weasley boys looked over at their brother.

"It was too hot?" Bill asked with a chuckle. Percy was the only one not chuckling though you could see his lips twitching.

"Shut it," Ron muttered.

**"Harry, relax, Hermione's right, the Stone's safe as long as Dumbledore's around. Anyway, we've never had any proof Snape found out how to get past Fluffy. He nearly had his leg ripped off once, he's not going to try it again in a hurry. And Neville will play Quidditch for England before Hagrid lets Dumbledore down."**

"That's not nice," Alicia frowned.

"But it is true," Neville said. "I'm not the best flyer in the world and Hagrid seems to really respect Dumbledore."

**Harry nodded, but he couldn't shake off a lurking feeling that there was something he'd forgotten to do, something important. When he tried to explain this, Hermione said, "That's just the exams. I woke up last night and was halfway through my Transfiguration notes before I remembered we'd done that one."**

**Harry was quite sure the unsettled feeling didn't have anything to do with work, though. He watched an owl flutter toward the school across the bright blue sky, a note clamped in its mouth. Hagrid was the only one who ever sent him letters. Hagrid would never betray Dumbledore. Hagrid would never tell anyone how to get past Fluffy... never... but—**

**Harry suddenly jumped to his feet.**

"Harry has an idea for pranking!" the twins grinned.

"Actually I put the pieces together," Harry said and chuckled as the grins slipped off their faces.

**"Where're you going?" said Ron sleepily.**

**"I've just thought of something," said Harry. He had turned white. "We've got to go and see Hagrid, now."**

**"Why?" panted Hermione, hurrying to keep up.**

**"Don't you think it's a bit odd," said Harry, scrambling up the grassy slope, "that what Hagrid wants more than anything else is a dragon, and a stranger turns up who just happens to have an egg in his pocket? How many people wander around with dragon eggs if it's against wizard law? Lucky they found Hagrid, don't you think? Why didn't I see it before?"**

"Good point Harry," Charlie nodded.

"I have those occasionally." Harry shrugged.

**"What are you talking about?" said Ron, but Harry, sprinting across the grounds toward the forest, didn't answer.**

**Hagrid was sitting in an armchair outside his house; his trousers and sleeves were rolled up, and he was shelling peas into a large bowl.**

**"Hullo," he said, smiling. "Finished yer exams? Got time fer a drink?"**

**"Yes, please," said Ron, but Harry cut him off.**

**"No, we're in a hurry. Hagrid, I've got to ask you something. You know that night you won Norbert? What did the stranger you were playing cards with look like?"**

**"Dunno," said Hagrid casually, "he wouldn' take his cloak off."**

"And that's not suspicious at all," Oliver said dryly.

**He saw the three of them look stunned and raised his eyebrows.**

**"It's not that unusual, yeh get a lot o' funny folk in the Hog's Head—that's the pub down in the village. Mighta bin a dragon dealer, mightn' he? I never saw his face, he kept his hood up."**

"Kept his hood up?" Angelina said faintly.

"That can't be good," Cedric shook his head.

**Harry sank down next to the bowl of peas.**

**"What did you talk to him about, Hagrid? Did you mention Hogwarts at all?"**

**"Mighta come up," said Hagrid, frowning as he tried to remember. "Yeah... he asked what I did, an' I told him I was gamekeeper here... He asked a bit about the sorta creatures I took after... so I told him... an' I said what I'd always really wanted was a dragon... an' then... I can' remember too well, 'cause he kept buyin' me drinks...**

"So that's another way to get information out of him," Alicia mused.

"Planning on fishing for info later?" Katie asked her friend.

"No, just remembering that in case I ever need to tell anyone a secret."

**Let's see... yeah, then he said he had the dragon egg an' we could play cards fer it if I wanted... but he had ter be sure I could handle it, he didn' want it ter go ter any old home... So I told him, after Fluffy, a dragon would be easy..."**

**"And did he—did he seem interested in Fluffy?" Harry asked, trying to keep his voice calm.**

**"Well—yeah—how many three-headed dogs d'yeh meet, even around Hogwarts? So I told him, Fluffy's a piece o' cake if yeh know how to calm him down, jus' play him a bit o' music an' he'll go straight off ter sleep—"**

"Hagrid!" Bill and Charlie yelled.

**Hagrid suddenly looked horrified.**

**"I shouldn'ta told yeh that!" he blurted out. "Forget I said it! Hey—where're yeh goin'?"**

**Harry, Ron, and Hermione didn't speak to each other at all until they came to a halt in the entrance hall, which seemed very cold and gloomy after the grounds.**

**"We've got to go to Dumbledore," said Harry. "Hagrid told that stranger how to get past Fluffy, and it was either Snape or Voldemort under that cloak—it must've been easy, once he'd got Hagrid drunk. I just hope Dumbledore believes us.**

"He would," Bill nodded.

**Firenze might back us up if Bane doesn't stop him. Where's Dumbledore's office?"**

"You mean," the twins gasped, "you didn't know?"

"We still don't," Hermione said proudly.

**They looked around, as if hoping to see a sign pointing them in the right direction. They had never been told where Dumbledore lived, nor did they know anyone who had been sent to see him.**

**"We'll just have to—" Harry began, but a voice suddenly rang across the hall.**

**"What are you three doing inside?"**

**It was Professor McGonagall, carrying a large pile of books.**

**"We want to see Professor Dumbledore," said Hermione, rather bravely, Harry and Ron thought.**

"I am a Gryffindor," Hermione said proudly.

 **"See Professor Dumbledore?" Professor McGonagall repeated, as though this was a very fishy thing to want to do.** **"Why?"**

**Harry swallowed—now what?**

**"It's sort of secret," he said, but he wished at once he hadn't, because Professor McGonagall's nostrils flared.**

"What is it with you and McGonagall's nostrils?" Cedric asked.

"I notice them apparently," Harry said. "I don't spend much time studying her nose, if that's what you're wondering."

**"Professor Dumbledore left ten minutes ago," she said coldly. "He received an urgent owl from the Ministry of Magic and flew off for London at once."**

**"He's** _**gone** _ **?" said Harry frantically. "** _**Now?** _ **"**

**"Professor Dumbledore is a very great wizard, Potter, he has many demands on his time—"**

"Then he shouldn't be running a school," Hermione huffed.

**"But this is important."**

**"Something you have to say is more important than the Ministry of Magic, Potter?"**

**"Look," said Harry, throwing caution to the winds,** **"Professor—it's about the Sorcerer's Stone—"**

"We love throwing caution to the wind," Fred said.

"Makes life much more enjoyable," George finished.

**Whatever Professor McGonagall had expected, it wasn't that. The books she was carrying tumbled out of her arms, but she didn't pick them up.**

**"How do you know—?" she spluttered.**

**"Professor, I think—I** _**know—** _ **that Sn— that someone's going to try and steal the Stone. I've got to talk to Professor Dumbledore."**

**She eyed him with a mixture of shock and suspicion.**

**"Professor Dumbledore will be back tomorrow," she said finally. "I don't know how you found out about the Stone, but rest assured, no one can possibly steal it, it's too well protected."**

"So well protected that three first years could get through them?" Harry whispered to Ron.

**"But Professor—"**

**"Potter, I know what I'm talking about,"**

"I don't think she does," Oliver said softly. This didn't bode well.

**she said shortly. She bent down and gathered up the fallen books. I suggest you all go back outside and enjoy the sunshine."**

**But they didn't.**

**"It's tonight," said Harry, once he was sure Professor McGonagall was out of earshot. "Snape's going through the trapdoor tonight. He's found out everything he needs, and now he's got Dumbledore out of the way. He sent that note, I bet the Ministry of Magic will get a real shock when Dumbledore turns up."**

**"But what can we—"**

**Hermione gasped. Harry and Ron wheeled round.**

**Snape was standing there.**

**"Good afternoon," he said smoothly.**

"Was till you came up," the twins muttered.

**They stared at him.**

**"You shouldn't be inside on a day like this," he said, with an odd, twisted smile.**

"His smile is always twisted," Lee said.

**"We were—" Harry began, without any idea what he was going to say.**

**"You want to be more careful," said Snape. "Hanging around like this, people will think you're up to something. And Gryffindor really can't afford to lose any more points, can it?"**

**Harry flushed. They turned to go outside, but Snape called them back.**

**"Be warned, Potter—any more nighttime wanderings and I will personally make sure you are expelled. Good day to you."**

**He strode off in the direction of the staffroom.**

**Out on the stone steps, Harry turned to the others.**

**"Right, here's what we've got to do," he whispered urgently. "One of us has got to keep an eye on Snape—wait outside the staff room and follow him if he leaves it. Hermione, you'd better do that."**

"Why?" Alicia asked.

**"Why me?"**

"You had to ask?" Cho asked.

"I really didn't know what those two had planned," Hermione said

**"It's obvious," said Ron. "You can pretend to be waiting for Professor Flitwick, you know." He put on a high voice, "'Oh Professor Flitwick, I'm so worried, I think I got question fourteen** _**b** _ **wrong...'"**

No one could prevent the chuckles from slipping out from their mouths. It was just typical Hermione.

**"Oh, shut up," said Hermione, but she agreed to go and watch out for Snape.**

**"And we'd better stay outside the third-floor corridor," Harry told Ron. "Come on."**

**But that part of the plan didn't work. No sooner had they reached the door separating Fluffy from the rest of the school than Professor McGonagall turned up again and this time, she lost her temper.**

**"I suppose you think you're harder to get past than a pack of enchantments!" she stormed. "Enough of this nonsense! If I hear you've come anywhere near here again, I'll take another fifty points from Gryffindor!**

"From her own house?" Charlie and Bill gasped.

**Yes, Weasley, from my own house!"**

The twins and Ron chuckled at the looks on their older brothers' faces.

**Harry and Ron went back to the common room. Harry had just said, "At least Hermione's on Snape's tail," when the portrait of the Fat Lady swung open and Hermione came in.**

**"I'm sorry, Harry!" she wailed. "Snape came out and asked me what I was doing, so I said I was waiting for Flitwick, and Snape went to get him, and I've only just got away, I don't know where Snape went."**

**"Well, that's it then, isn't it?" Harry said.**

**The other two stared at him. He was pale and his eyes were glittering.**

**"I'm going out of here tonight and I'm going to try and get to the Stone first."**

**"You're mad!" said Ron.**

**"You can't!" said Hermione. "After what McGonagall and Snape have said? You'll be expelled!"**

"I don't think he cares," Bill said with a small smile.

**"SO WHAT?" Harry shouted. "Don't you understand? If Snape gets hold of the Stone, Voldemort's coming back! Haven't you heard what it was like when he was trying to take over? There won't be any Hogwarts to get expelled from! He'll flatten it, or turn it into a school for the Dark Arts!**

"Either way, it'd be bad," Angelina said darkly.

 **Losing points doesn't matter anymore, can't you see? D'you think he'll leave you and your families alone if Gryffindor wins the house cup? If I get caught before I can get to the Stone, well, I'll have to go back to the Dursleys and wait for Voldemort** **to find me there, it's only dying a bit later than I would have, because I'm never going over to the Dark Side! I'm going through that trapdoor tonight and nothing you two say is going to stop me! Voldemort** **killed my parents, remember?"**

The locker room was silent after that. Everyone was amazed at the fact that a _first year_ was willing to prevent the darkest wizard in fifty years from returning to power when most adults couldn't even say the name.

**He glared at them.**

**"You're right Harry," said Hermione in a small voice.**

**"I'll use the invisibility cloak," said Harry. "It's just lucky I got it back."**

"That was lucky," Charlie said with a smile.

**"But will it cover all three of us?" said Ron.**

**"All—all three of us?"**

**"Oh, come off it, you don't think we'd let you go alone?"**

"You think you'd be able to get through it alone?" Fred smirked.

**"Of course not," said Hermione briskly. "How do you think you'd get to the Stone without us? I'd better go and took through my books, there might be something useful..."**

**"But if we get caught, you two will be expelled, too."**

**"Not if I can help it," said Hermione grimly. "Flitwick told me in secret that I got a hundred and twelve percent on his exam. They're not throwing me out after that."**

"One hundred and _twelve_?" Cho said faintly. "I only got a one hundred and two."

**After dinner the three of them sat nervously apart in the common room. Nobody bothered them; none of the Gryffindors had anything to say to Harry any more, after all. This was the first night he hadn't been upset by it. Hermione was skimming through all her notes, hoping to come across one of the enchantments they were about to try to break. Harry and Ron didn't talk much. Both of them were thinking about what they were about to do.**

**Slowly, the room emptied as people drifted off to bed.**

**"Better get the cloak," Ron muttered, as Lee Jordan finally left, stretching and yawning. Harry ran upstairs to their dark dormitory. He pulled out the cloak and then his eyes fell on the flute Hagrid had given him for Christmas. He pocketed it to use on Fluffy—he didn't feel much like singing.**

"You know you can't sing worth a snot right?" Fred asked.

"How would you know?" Harry asked, his cheeks turning pink.

"You sing when you get changed sometimes. Loudly."

**He ran back down to the common room.**

**"We'd better put the cloak on here, and make sure it covers all three of us—if Filch spots one of our feet wandering along on its own—"**

**"What are you doing?" said a voice from the corner of the room. Neville appeared from behind an armchair, clutching Trevor the toad, who looked as though he'd been making another bid for freedom.**

**"Nothing, Neville, nothing," said Harry, hurriedly putting the cloak behind his back.**

**Neville stared at their guilty faces.**

**"You're going out again," he said.**

**"No, no, no," said Hermione. "No, we're not. Why don't you go to bed, Neville?"**

"I could see through that in a minute," Neville told her.

**Harry looked at the grandfather clock by the door. They couldn't afford to waste any more time, Snape might even now be playing Fluffy to sleep.**

**"You can't go out," said Neville, "you'll be caught again. Gryffindor will be in even more trouble."**

**"You don't understand," said Harry, "this is important."**

**But Neville was clearly steeling himself to do something desperate.**

"That really wasn't the time Neville," Harry told his year mate.

" **I won't let you do it," he said, hurrying to stand in front of the portrait hole. "I'll—I'll fight you!"**

**"** _**Neville** _ **, "Ron exploded, "get away from that hole and don't be an idiot—"**

**"Don't you call me an idiot!" said Neville. "I don't think you should be breaking any more rules! And you were the one who told me to stand up to people!"**

"I didn't mean us," Ron chuckled.

**"Yes, but not to** _**us** _ **," said Ron in exasperation. "Neville, you don't know what you're doing."**

**He took a step forward and Neville dropped Trevor the toad, who leapt out of sight.**

**"Go on then, try and hit me!" said Neville, raising his fists. "I'm ready!"**

**Harry turned to Hermione.**

**"** _**Do something** _ **," he said desperately.**

**Hermione stepped forward.**

**"Neville," she said, "I'm really, really sorry about this."**

"What did you do?" Lee asked.

**She raised her wand.**

**"** _**Petrificus Totalus!** _ **" she cried, pointing it at Neville.**

**Neville's arms snapped to his sides. His legs sprang together. His whole body rigid, he swayed where he stood and then fell flat on his face, stiff as a board.**

"At least it wasn't a nasty hex," Neville said timidly. "Knowing Hermione, she probably could come up with something worse."

**Hermione ran to turn him over. Neville's jaws were jammed together so he couldn't speak. Only his eyes were moving, looking at them in horror.**

**"What've you done to him?" Harry whispered.**

**"It's the full Body-Bind," said Hermione miserably. "Oh, Neville, I'm so sorry."**

**"We had to, Neville, no time to explain," said Harry.**

**"You'll understand later, Neville," said Ron as they stepped over him and pulled on the invisibility cloak.**

**But leaving Neville lying motionless on the floor didn't feel like a very good omen. In their nervous state, every statue's shadow looked like Filch, every distant breath of wind sounded like Peeves swooping down on them.**

**At the foot of the first set of stairs, they spotted Mrs. Norris skulking near the top.**

"Oh why didn't we kick her?" Ron moaned.

"We didn't have the time," Harry reminded him.

**"Oh, let's kick her, just this once," Ron whispered in Harry's ear, but Harry shook his head. As they climbed carefully around her, Mrs. Norris turned her lamp-like eyes on them, but didn't do anything.**

**They didn't meet anyone else until they reached the staircase up to the third floor. Peeves** **was bobbing halfway up, loosening the carpet so that people would trip.**

**"Who's there?" he said suddenly as they climbed toward him. He narrowed his wicked black eyes. "Know you're there, even if I can't see you. Are you ghoulie or ghostie or wee student beastie?"**

**He rose up in the air and floated there, squinting at them.**

**"Should call Filch, I should, if something's a-creeping around unseen."**

**Harry had a sudden idea.**

"Did it involve going back to bed?" Alicia asked hopefully.

"No," Harry said.

**"Peeves," he said, in a hoarse whisper, "the Bloody Baron has his own reasons for being invisible."**

"That might work," Cedric looked thoughtful.

 **Peeves almost fell out of the air in shock. He caught himself in time and hovered about a foot off the stairs.** **"So sorry, your bloodiness, Mr. Baron, Sir," he said greasily. "My mistake, my mistake—I didn't see you—of course I didn't, you're invisible—forgive old Peevsie his little joke, sir."**

Percy could be seen rolling his eyes while Fred and George had their jaws down on the ground.

**"I have business here, Peeves," croaked Harry. "Stay away from this place tonight."**

**"I will, sir, I most certainly will," said Peeves, rising up in the air again. "Hope your business goes well, Baron, I'll not bother you."**

"You—"

"—are—"

"—BRILLIANT!" Lee, Fred and George cried.

**And he scooted off**

**"** _**Brilliant** _ **, Harry!" whispered Ron.**

**A few seconds later, they were there, outside the third-floor corridor—and the door was already ajar.**

**"Well, there you are," Harry said quietly, "Snape's already got past Fluffy."**

"That's not good," Bill sighed.

**Seeing the open door somehow seemed to impress upon all three of them what was facing them. Underneath the cloak, Harry turned to the other two.**

**"If you want to go back, I won't blame you," he said. "You can take the cloak, I won't need it now."**

**"Don't be stupid," said Ron.**

**"We're coming," said Hermione.**

**Harry pushed the door open.**

**As the door creaked, low, rumbling growls met their ears. All three of the dog's noses sniffed madly in their direction, even though it couldn't see them.**

**"What's that at its feet?" Hermione whispered.**

**"Looks like a harp," said Ron. "Snape must have left it there."**

"I hate to say it," Oliver said, "but I don't think Snape would play the harp."

"Oliver," Harry said, "does it really matter?"

**"It must wake up the moment you stop playing," said Harry. "Well, here goes..."**

**He put Hagrid's flute to his lips and blew. It wasn't really a tune, but from the first note the beast's eyes began to droop. Harry hardly drew breath. Slowly, the dog's growls ceased—it tottered on its paws and fell to its knees, then it slumped to the ground, fast asleep.**

**"Keep playing," Ron warned Harry as they slipped out of the cloak and crept toward the trapdoor. They could feel the dog's hot, smelly breath as they approached the giant heads.**

"Eww," Cho shuddered.

The twins looked at Ron; his nighttime muttering of 'stay away from me you three headed freak' was becoming clearer with every page.

**"I think we'll be able to pull the door open," said Ron, peering over the dog's back. "Want to go first, Hermione?"**

**"No, I don't!"**

"Really brave," Fred chuckled.

"And so chivalrous," George teased his little brother.

**"All right." Ron gritted his teeth and stepped carefully over the dog's legs. He bent and pulled the ring of the trapdoor, which swung up and open.**

**"What can you see?" Hermione said anxiously.**

**"Nothing—just black—there's no way of climbing down, we'll just have to drop."**

**Harry, who was still playing the flute, waved at Ron to get his attention and pointed at himself.**

**"You want to go first? Are you sure?" said Ron. "I don't know how deep this thing goes. Give the flute to Hermione so she can keep him asleep."**

**Harry handed the flute over. In the few seconds' silence, the dog growled and twitched, but the moment Hermione began to play, it fell back into its deep sleep.**

"Good, so it won't attack you." Angelina relaxed when Neville read that Fluffy went straight back to sleep.

**Harry climbed over it and looked down through the trapdoor. There was no sign of the bottom.**

**He lowered himself through the hole until he was hanging on by his fingertips. Then he looked up at Ron and said, "If anything happens to me, don't follow. Go straight to the owlery and send Hedwig to Dumbledore, right?"**

**"Right," said Ron.**

**"See you in a minute, I hope..."**

**And Harry let go. Cold, damp air rushed past him as he fell down, down, down and—**

**FLUMP. With a funny, muffled sort of thump he landed on something soft. He sat up and felt around, his eyes not used to the gloom. It felt as though he was sitting on some sort of plant.**

"That's lucky," Alicia let out a sigh of relief.

**"It's okay!" he called up to the light the size of a postage stamp, which was the open trapdoor, "it's a soft landing, you can jump!"**

"Soft landing?" Katie asked.

"We were first years," Ron said. "Logic. Not our strong suit."

"You mean not _your_ strong suit Ron." Harry chuckled. "Hermione won points for her use of logic if I recall correctly."

**Ron followed right away. He landed, sprawled next to Harry.**

**"What's this stuff?" were his first words.**

**"Dunno, some sort of plant thing. I suppose it's here to break the fall.** **Come on, Hermione!"**

"Plant thing?" Hermione raised an eyebrow but it was Neville who asked the question. He turned pink when he realized it was him though.

**The distant music stopped. There was a loud bark from the dog, but Hermione had already jumped. She landed on Harry's other side.**

**"We must be miles under the school," she said.**

"Wouldn't doubt it," Lee said. "With you guys, nothing is impossible."

**"Lucky this plant thing's here, really," said Ron.**

**"** _**Lucky!** _ **" shrieked Hermione. "Look at you both!"**

**She leapt up and struggled toward a damp wall. She had to struggle because the moment she had landed, the plant had started to twist snakelike tendrils around her ankles.**

**As for Harry and Ron, their legs had already been bound tightly in long creepers without their noticing.**

"How could you not notice—"

"—a plant trying to kill you?"

"We wanted to make sure Hermione came down alright," Harry said and Ron nodded.

**Hermione had managed to free herself before the plant got a firm grip on her. Now she watched in horror as the two boys fought to pull the plant off them, but the more they strained against it, the tighter and faster the plant wound around them.**

**"Stop moving!" Hermione ordered them. "I know what this is—it's Devil's Snare!"**

"Stop moving," Neville piped up. "That's Devil's Snare."

**"Oh, I'm so glad we know what it's called, that's a great help," snarled Ron, leaning back, trying to stop the plant from curling around his neck.**

**"Shut up, I'm trying to remember how to kill it!" said Hermione.**

**"Well, hurry up, I can't breathe!" Harry gasped, wrestling with it as it curled around his chest.**

**"Devil's Snare, Devil's Snare... what did Professor Sprout say?—it likes the dark and the damp—"**

**"So light a fire!" Harry choked.**

**"Yes—of course—but there's no wood!"**

"No wood?" Angelina asked.

"Did you go mad?" Cedric asked. "Or did you forget you were a witch?"

**Hermione cried, wringing her hands.**

**"HAVE YOU GONE MAD?" Ron bellowed. "ARE YOU A WITCH OR NOT?"**

"Exactly!" Cedric nodded. Everyone else chuckled at the similarity between the two boys' statements.

**"Oh, right!" said Hermione, and she whipped out her wand, waved it, muttered something, and sent a jet of the same bluebell flames she had used on Snape**

"Now she remembers!" Alicia threw her hands up in the air.

**at the plant. In a matter of seconds, the two boys felt it loosening its grip as it cringed away from the light and warmth.**

**Wriggling and flailing, it unraveled itself from their bodies, and they were able to pull free.**

**"Lucky you pay attention in Herbology, Hermione," said Harry as he joined her by the wall, wiping sweat off his face.**

"Indeed," everyone else sighed.

**"Yeah," said Ron, "and lucky Harry doesn't lose his head in a crisis—'there's no wood,' honestly."**

The twins and Oliver couldn't help the snickers they let loose.

**"This way," said Harry, pointing down a stone passageway, which was the only way forward.**

**All they could hear apart from their footsteps was the gentle drip of water trickling down the walls. The passageway sloped downward, and Harry was reminded of Gringotts. With an unpleasant jolt of the heart, he remembered the dragons said to be guarding vaults in the wizards' bank. If they met a dragon, a fully-grown dragon—Norbert had been bad enough...**

"Hey that reminds me," Fred said and turned to Bill. "Are there dragons down in Gringotts?"

"I can't tell you." Bill said. "It's in my contract."

"Cop out if I ever heard one," George sniffed.

**"Can you hear something?" Ron whispered.**

**Harry listened. A soft rustling and clinking seemed to be coming from up ahead.**

**"Do you think it's a ghost?"**

**"I don't know... sounds like wings to me."**

**"There's light ahead—I can see something moving."**

**They reached the end of the passageway and saw before them a brilliantly lit chamber, its ceiling arching high above them. It was full of small, jewel-bright birds, fluttering and tumbling all around the room. On the opposite side of the chamber was a heavy wooden door.**

"Wonder which teacher's this one is?" Angelina asked.

**"Do you think they'll attack us if we cross the room?" said Ron.**

**"Probably," said Harry. "They don't look very vicious, but I suppose if they all swooped down at once... well, there's no other choice... I'll run."**

**He took a deep breath, covered his face with his arms, and sprinted across the room. He expected to feel sharp beaks and claws tearing at him any second, but nothing happened. He reached the door untouched. He pulled the handle, but it was locked.**

**The other two followed him. They tugged and heaved at the door, but it wouldn't budge, not even when Hermione tried her Alohomora charm.**

**"Now what?" said Ron.**

**"These birds... they can't be here just for decoration," said watched the birds soaring overhead, glittering—** _ **glittering**_.

"Birds don't glitter," Cho said.

**"They're not birds!" Harry said suddenly. "They're** _**keys** _ **! Winged keys—look carefully. So that must mean..." he looked around the chamber while the other two squinted up at the flock of keys. "... yes—look! Broomsticks! We've got to catch the key to the door!"**

**"But there are** _**hundreds** _ **of them!"**

**Ron examined the lock on the door.**

**"We're looking for a big, old-fashioned one—probably silver, like the handle."**

"Excellent observational skills Ron," Percy praised. Ron's ears went pink.

**They each seized a broomstick and kicked off into the air, soaring into the midst of the cloud of keys. They grabbed and snatched, but the bewitched keys darted and dived so quickly it was almost impossible to catch one.**

**Not for nothing, though, was Harry the youngest Seeker in a century. He had a knack for spotting things other people didn't.**

"I would never say that," Harry said, "or think that."

"We know mate," Ron nodded.

**After a minute's weaving about through the whirl of rainbow feathers, he noticed a large silver key that had a bent wing, as if it had already been caught and stuffed roughly into the keyhole.**

**"That one!" he called to the others. "That big one—there—no, there—with bright blue wings—the feathers are all crumpled on one side."**

**Ron went speeding in the direction that Harry was pointing, crashed into the ceiling, and nearly fell off his broom.**

The twins chucked but turned it into a cough when Ron glared at them.

**"We've got to close in on it!" Harry called, not taking his eyes off the key with the damaged wing. "Ron, you come at it from above—Hermione, stay below and stop it from going down and I'll try and catch it. Right, NOW!"**

**Ron dived, Hermione rocketed upward, the key dodged them both, and Harry streaked after it; it sped toward the wall, Harry leaned forward and with a nasty, crunching noise, pinned it against the stone with one hand. Ron and Hermione's cheers echoed around the high chamber.'**

All the Quidditch players cheered loudly. It wasn't as great as catching the snitch in your mouth, but it was impressive non the less.

**They landed quickly, and Harry ran to the door, the key struggling in his hand. He rammed it into the lock and turned—it worked. The moment the lock had clicked open, the key took flight again, looking very battered now that it had been caught twice.**

**"Ready?" Harry asked the other two, his hand on the door handle. They nodded. He pulled the door open.**

**The next chamber was so dark they couldn't see anything at all. But as they stepped into it, light suddenly flooded the room to reveal an astonishing sight.**

**They were standing on the edge of a huge chessboard, behind the black chessmen, which were all taller than they were and carved from what looked like black stone. Facing them, way across the chamber, were the white pieces. Harry, Ron and Hermione shivered slightly—the towering white chessmen had no faces.**

"That was so creepy," Hermione shuddered.

**"Now what do we do?" Harry whispered.**

**"It's obvious, isn't it?" said Ron. "We've got to play our way across the room."**

**Behind the white pieces they could see another door.**

**"How?" said Hermione nervously.**

**"I think," said Ron, "we're going to have to be chessmen."**

"So basically if you didn't have Ron, you'd be doomed." Charlie said.

**He walked up to a black knight and put his hand out to touch the knight's horse. At once, the stone sprang to life. The horse pawed the ground and the knight turned his helmeted head to look down at Ron.**

**"Do we—er—have to join you to get across?"**

**The black knight nodded. Ron turned to the other two.**

**"This needs thinking about he said. I suppose we've got to take the place of three of the black pieces..."**

**Harry and Hermione stayed quiet, watching Ron think. Finally he said, "Now, don't be offended or anything, but neither of you are that good at chess—"**

**"We're not offended," said Harry quickly. "Just tell us what to do."**

**"Well, Harry, you take the place of that bishop, and Hermione, you go next to him instead of that castle."**

**"What about you?"**

**"I'm going to be a knight," said Ron.**

"Your favorite piece," the twins said with a smile.

**The chessmen seemed to have been listening, because at these words a knight, a bishop, and a castle turned their backs on the white pieces and walked off the board, leaving three empty squares that Harry, Ron, and Hermione took.**

**"White always plays first in chess," said Ron, peering across the board. "Yes... look..."**

**A white pawn had moved forward two squares.**

**Ron started to direct the black pieces. They moved silently wherever he sent them. Harry's knees were trembling. What if they lost?**

**"Harry—move diagonally four squares to the right."**

**Their first real shock came when their other knight was taken. The white queen smashed him to the floor and dragged him off the board, where he lay quite still, facedown.**

"That's not good. What if one of you is taken?" Cho moaned.

**"Had to let that happen," said Ron, looking shaken. "Leaves you free to take that bishop, Hermione, go on."**

**Every time one of their men was lost, the white pieces showed no mercy. Soon there was a huddle of limp black players slumped along the wall. Twice, Ron only just noticed in time that Harry and Hermione were in danger. He himself darted around the board, taking almost as many white pieces as they had lost black ones.**

"Wow," Percy said impressed. "I heard you beat McGonagall's trap but I didn't know you did this well."

"Doubting me Percy?" Ron asked.

"No. It's just you were playing McGonagall or so I heard."

**"We're nearly there," he muttered suddenly. "Let me think let me think..."**

**The white queen turned her blank face toward him.**

**"Yes..." said Ron softly, "It's the only way... I've got to be taken."**

"NO!" All the other Weasley siblings yelled.

**"NO!" Harry and Hermione shouted.**

"Good friends," Lee muttered.

**"That's chess!" snapped Ron. "You've got to make some sacrifices!**

"But not you, Ron." Bill said softly.

**I take one step forward and she'll take me—that leaves you free to checkmate the king, Harry!"**

**"But—"**

**"Do you want to stop Snape or not?"**

"Gryffindor," Oliver said shakily.

**"Ron—"**

**"Look, if you don't hurry up, he'll already have the Stone!"**

**There was no alternative.**

**"Ready?" Ron called, his face pale but determined. "Here I go—now, don't hang around once you've won."**

Bill and Charlie looked as nervous as humanly possible. Percy was shaking his head and the twins were as pale as they could go.

**He stepped forward, and the white queen pounced. She struck Ron hard across the head with her stone arm,**

"NO!" Bill and Charlie yelled.

"That's chess," Ron shrugged. Well, as well as one could shrugged when getting squeezed by their older twin brothers.

**and he crashed to the floor—Hermione screamed but stayed on her square—the white queen dragged Ron to one side. He looked as if he'd been knocked out.**

"It bloody hurt," Ron said rubbing the knot that remained on his head. Percy noticed this and frowned. How had no one noticed?

**Shaking, Harry moved three spaces to the left.**

**The white king took off his crown and threw it at Harry's feet. They had won.**

"YES!" Lee cheered. Fred and George smiled but they were worried about Ron.

**The chessmen parted and bowed, leaving the door ahead clear. With one last desperate look back at Ron, Harry and Hermione charged through the door and up the next passageway.**

**"What if he's—?"**

**"He'll be all right," said Harry, trying to convince himself. "What do you reckon's next?"**

**"We've had Sprout's, that was the Devil's Snare; Flitwick must've put charms on the keys; McGonagall transfigured the chessmen to make them alive; that leaves Quirrell's spell, and Snape's."**

**They had reached another door.**

**"All right?" Harry whispered**

**"Go on."**

**Harry pushed it open.**

**A disgusting smell filled their nostrils, making both of them pull their robes up over their noses. Eyes watering, they saw, flat on the floor in front of them, a troll even larger than the one they had tackled, out cold with a bloody lump on its head.**

"Convenient," Cedric muttered.

**"I'm glad we didn't have to fight that one," Harry whispered as they stepped carefully over one of its massive legs. "Come on, I can't breathe."**

**He pulled open the next door, both of them hardly daring to look at what came next—but there was nothing very frightening in here, just a table with seven differently shaped bottles standing on it in a line.**

**"Snape's," said Harry. "What do we have to do?"**

"So what does the greasy git from the dungeons have for the protections?" Lee asked, excited.

**They stepped over the threshold, and immediately a fire sprang up behind them in the doorway. It wasn't ordinary fire either; it was purple. At the same instant, black flames shot up in the doorway leading onward. They were trapped.**

**"Look!" Hermione seized a roll of paper lying next to the bottles. Harry looked over her shoulder to read it:**

_**Danger lies before you, while safety lies behind,** _

_**Two of us will help you, which ever you would find,** _

_**One among us seven will let you move ahead,** _

_**Another will transport the drinker back instead,** _

_**Two among our number hold only nettle wine,** _

_**Three of us are killers, waiting bidden in line.** _

_**Choose, unless you wish to stay here forevermore,** _

_**To help you in your choice, we give you these clues four:** _

_**First, however slyly the poison tries to hide** _

_**You will always find some on nettle wine's left side;** _

_**Second, different are those who stand at either end,** _

_**But if you would move onward, neither is your friend;** _

_**Third, as you see clearly, all are different size,** _

_**Neither dwarf nor giant holds death in their insides;** _

_**Fourth, the second left and the second on the right** _

_**Are twins once you taste them, though different at firstsight.** _

"Whoa," the twins moaned. "We'd be stuck there to this day."

**Hermione let out a great sigh and Harry, amazed, saw that she was smiling, the very last thing he felt like doing.**

**"** _**Brilliant** _ **," said Hermione. "This isn't magic—it's logic—a puzzle. A lot of the greatest wizards haven't got an ounce of logic, they'd be stuck in here forever."**

"So true," Hermione nodded.

"You're agreeing with yourself," Ron told her.

**"But so will we, won't we?"**

"Pessimist," Cho shook her head.

"I'm realistic," Harry said with a scowl.

**"Of course not," said Hermione. "Everything we need is here on this paper. Seven bottles: three are poison; two are wine; one will get us safely through the black fire, and one will get us back through the purple."**

**"But how do we know which to drink?"**

"Hermione'll know," Katie said with a nod.

**"Give me a minute."**

**Hermione read the paper several times. Then she walked up and down the line of bottles, muttering to herself and pointing at them. At last, she clapped her hands.**

**"Got it," she said. "The smallest bottle will get us through the black fire—toward the Stone."**

"Brilliant," the twins gasped.

**Harry looked at the tiny bottle.**

**"There's only enough there for one of us," he said. "That's hardly one swallow."**

**They looked at each other.**

**"Which one will get you back through the purple flames?"**

**Hermione pointed at a rounded bottle at the right end of the line.**

"You're amazing," Ron and Harry told Hermione.

**"You drink that," said Harry. "No, listen, get back and get Ron. Grab brooms from the flying-key room, they'll get you out of the trapdoor and past Fluffy—go straight to the owlery and send Hedwig to Dumbledore, we need him. I might be able to hold Snape off for a while, but I'm no match for him, really."**

"Harry, do we have to teach you to be optimistic?" Alicia shook her head. "Though your pessimistic attitude might be better in this situation."

**"But Harry—what if You-Know-Who's with him?"**

**"Well—I was lucky once, wasn't I?" said Harry, pointing at his scar. "I might get lucky again."**

"I'd rather you were," Cedric said, though it was more toward the book than to Harry himself.

**Hermione's lip trembled, and she suddenly dashed at Harry and threw her arms around him.**

"Aww," the twins mocked. Harry just motioned to the beater bat that was sitting by him and they went as mute as humanly possible.

**"** _**Hermione!** _ **"**

**"Harry—you're a great wizard, you know."**

**"I'm not as good as you," said Harry, very embarrassed, as she let go of him.**

**"Me!" said Hermione. "Books! And cleverness! There are more important things—friendship and bravery and—oh Harry—be** _**careful** _ **!"**

"I _was_ careful," Harry whispered to Hermione.

**"You drink first," said Harry. "You are sure which is which, aren't you?"**

**"Positive," said Hermione. She took a long drink from the round bottle at the end, and shuddered.**

**"It's not poison?" said Harry anxiously.**

**"No—but it's like ice."**

**"Quick, go, before it wears off."**

**"Good luck—take care."**

**"GO!"**

**Hermione turned and walked straight through the purple fire.**

**Harry took a deep breath and picked up the smallest bottle. He turned to face the black flames.**

**"Here I come," he said, and he drained the little bottle in one gulp.**

"It wasn't pleasant," Harry muttered.

**It was indeed as though ice was flooding his body. He put the bottle down and walked forward; he braced himself, saw the black flames licking his body, but couldn't feel them—for a moment he could see nothing but dark fire—then he was on the other side, in the last chamber.**

**There was already someone there—but it wasn't Snape.**

**It wasn't even Voldemort.**

"Who was it?" Katie asked.

"That's the end of the chapter," Neville said. Everyone groaned.

"Back to Oliver?" Hermione asked. No one else had a problem with it so Neville handed the book to the older Gryffindor. Oliver opened the book to the correct chapter and said "The title of the last chapter is The Man with Two Faces."

"Well that's not creepy at all," Angelina said.


	17. Chapter 17

" **The Man With Two Faces,"** Oliver read.

"That sounds very wrong," Cedric shuddered.

**It was Quirrell.**

"Quirrell?" everyone else asked.

**"** _**You!** _ **" gasped Harry.**

"Dramatic much?" Ron chuckled.

**Quirrell smiled. His face wasn't twitching at all.**

"He faked it?" Cedric gasped. "That git! That was annoying as hell!"

**"Me," he said calmly. "I wondered whether I'd be meeting you here, Potter."**

**"But I thought—Snape—"**

"As we all did," Cho nodded.

**"Severus?" Quirrell laughed, and it wasn't his usual quivering treble, either, but cold and sharp.**

"He faked his own voice? Beyond the stutter?" Lee asked.

**"Yes, Severus does seem the type, doesn't he? So useful to have him swooping around like an overgrown bat. Next to him, who would suspect p-p-poor, st-stuttering P-Professor Quirrell?"**

"Damn it, the bastard has a point." Ron muttered.

"Ronald! Language!" Hermione scolded.

**Harry couldn't take it in. This couldn't be true, it couldn't.**

**"But Snape tried to kill me!"**

"You had to remind us of that," Oliver moaned. He couldn't believe he almost lost his star seeker.

 **"No, no, no.** _ **I**_ **tried to kill you.** **Your friend Miss Granger accidentally knocked me over as she rushed to set fire to Snape at that Quidditch match.**

"For which I will be forever grateful," Harry told Hermione.

**She broke my eye contact with you. Another few seconds and I'd have got you off that broom. I'd have managed it before then if Snape hadn't been muttering a countercurse, trying to save you."**

"He was trying to save you?" Charlie and Ron gasped.

**"Snape was trying to save me?"**

"I know mate," Ron said with a sigh. "I can't believe it either."

 **"Of course," said Quirrell coolly. "Why do you think he wanted to referee your next match? He was trying to make sure I didn't do it again.** **Funny, really... he needn't have bothered. I couldn't do anything with Dumbledore watching. All the other teachers thought Snape was trying to stop Gryffindor from winning, he** _ **did**_ **make himself unpopular...**

"He was already unpopular," Angelina said, "though it does make it harder to hate a man trying to keep Harry alive."

**and what a waste of time, when after all that, I'm going to kill you tonight."**

**Quirrell snapped his fingers. Ropes sprang out of thin air and wrapped themselves tightly around Harry.**

**"You're too nosy to live, Potter.**

"He is not!"

**Scurrying around the school on Halloween like that, for all I knew you'd seen me coming to look at what was guarding the Stone."**

**"** _**You** _ **let the troll in?"**

**"Certainly. I have a special gift with trolls**

"How can someone have a special gift with trolls?" Cedric asked.

"More importantly _why_ would someone want a special gift with trolls?" Neville asked.

— **you must have seen what I did to the one in the chamber back there?**

**Unfortunately, while everyone else was running around looking for it, Snape, who already suspected me,**

"I wonder why?" Alicia asked.

 **went straight to the third floor to head me off—and not only did my troll fail to beat you to death,** **that three-headed dog didn't even manage to bite Snape's leg off properly.** "

"Okay, now that is a pity." the twins nodded and then felt sick for agreeing with a man who tried to kill their brother's friend.

**"Now, wait quietly, Potter. I need to examine this interesting mirror."**

**It was only then that Harry realized what was standing behind Quirrell. It was the Mirror of Erised.**

"Not that damn mirror again," Katie sighed.

**"This mirror is the key to finding the Stone," Quirrell murmured, tapping his way around the frame. "Trust Dumbledore to come up with something like this... but he's in London... I'll be far away by the time he gets back..."**

"That's what you think," Harry said smirking.

**All Harry could think of doing was to keep Quirrell talking and stop him from concentrating on the mirror.**

**"I saw you and Snape in the forest—" he blurted out.**

"That sounds so wrong mate," Ron said shuddering.

 **"Yes," said Quirrell idly, walking around the mirror to look at the back. "He was on to me by that time, trying to find out how far I'd got. He suspected me all along. Tried to frighten me—as though he could, when I had Lord Voldemort** **on my side..."**

"He _what_?!" Everyone else shouted. Oliver fished out five galleons.

"Here," he handed them to Harry. "I think you won our bet."

"Trust me Oliver," Harry said. "I wish I didn't."

**Quirrell came back out from behind the mirror and stared hungrily into it.**

**"I see the Stone... I'm presenting it to my master... but where is it?"**

**Harry struggled against the ropes binding him, but they didn't give. He** _**had** _ **to keep Quirrell from giving his whole attention to the mirror.**

**"But Snape always seemed to hate me so much."**

"For reasons we will never know," Hermione sighed.

 **"Oh, he does," said Quirrell casually, "heavens, yes. He was at Hogwarts with your father, didn't you know? They loathed each other.** **But he never wanted you dead."**

"I'm going to go out on a limb and say—"

"—Quirrell does not know Snape that well."

**"But I heard you a few days ago, sobbing—I thought Snape was threatening you..."**

**For the first time, a spasm of fear flitted across Quirrell's face.**

**"Sometimes," he said, "I find it hard to follow my master's instructions—he is a great wizard**

"Yeah right," Lee snorted. "So great a _baby_ can beat him."

**and I am weak—"**

"So true," Hermione nodded her head.

**"You mean he was there in the classroom with you?" Harry gasped.**

"Does anyone else not like the sound of that?" Fred asked.

 **"He is with me wherever I go," said Quirrell quietly. "I met him when I traveled around the world. A foolish young man I was then, full of ridiculous ideas about good and evil. Lord Voldemort** **showed me how wrong I was. There is no good and evil, there is only power, and those too weak to seek it...**

"That's just wrong!" Oliver yelled.

"How could anyone believe that?" Percy asked.

**Since then, I have served him faithfully, although I have let him down many times. He has had to be very hard on me." Quirrell shivered suddenly. "He does not forgive mistakes easily. When I failed to steal the stone from Gringotts, he was most displeased. He punished me... decided he would have to keep a closer watch on me..."**

"So wish he didn't," Harry muttered to Ron.

 **Quirrell's voice trailed away. Harry was remembering his trip to Diagon Alley—how could he have been so stupid?** **He'd seen Quirrell there that very day, shaken hands with him in the Leaky Cauldron.**

**Quirrell cursed under his breath.**

**"I don't understand... is the Stone** _ **inside**_ **the mirror?** **Should I break it?"**

"If he did that, then I'd probably be dead," Harry muttered under his breath.

**Harry's mind was racing.**

_**What I want more than anything else in the world at the moment** _ **, he thought,** _**is to find the Stone before Quirrell doesSo if I look in the mirror, I should see myself finding it—which means I'll see where it's hidden! But how can I look without Quirrell realizing what I'm up to?** _

"How were my thoughts written down?" Harry asked. "I don't even remember what I thought about yesterday never mind a year ago."

**He tried to edge to the left, to get in front of the glass without Quirrell noticing, but the ropes around his ankles were too tight: he tripped and fell over.**

**Quirrell ignored him. He was still talking to himself.**

**"What does this mirror do? How does it work? Help me, Master!"**

"Me thinks we're not going to like this part," Lee said.

**And to Harry's horror, a voice answered, and the voice seemed to come from Quirrell himself.**

_**"Use the boy... Use the boy..."** _

"Oliver, please never use that voice again," Harry told the older boy.

**Quirrell rounded on Harry.**

**"Yes—Potter—come here."**

**He clapped his hands once, and the ropes binding Harry fell off. Harry got slowly to his feet.**

**"Come here," Quirrell repeated. "Look in the mirror and tell me what you see."**

**Harry walked toward him.** _**I must lie**_ **, he thought desperately.** _ **I must look and lie about what I see that's all**_

"Good idea," Alicia nodded.

**Quirrell moved close behind him. Harry breathed in the funny smell that seemed to come from Quirrell's turban. He closed his eyes, stepped in front of the mirror, and opened them again.**

**He saw his reflection, pale and scared-looking at first. But a moment later, the reflection smiled at him. It put its hand into its pocket and pulled out a blood-red stone. It winked and put the Stone back in its pocket—and as it did so, Harry felt something heavy drop into his real pocket.**

**Somehow—incredibly—** _**he'd gotten the Stone** _ **.**

"Whoa," Oliver and the twins gasped.

"How?" Cedric asked.

**"Well?" said Quirrell impatiently. "What do you see?"**

**Harry screwed up his courage.**

**"I see myself shaking hands with Dumbledore," he invented. "I—I've won the house cup for Gryffindor."**

"That was actually a believable lie," Fred told Harry.

**Quirrell cursed again.**

**"Get out of the way," he said. As Harry moved aside, he felt the Sorcerer's Stone against his leg. Dare he make a break for it?**

**But he hadn't walked five paces before a high voice spoke, though Quirrell wasn't moving his lips.**

**"He lies... He lies..."**

"Damn."

**"Potter, come back here!" Quirrell shouted. "Tell me the truth! What did you just see?"**

**The high voice spoke again.**

**"Let me speak to him... face-to-face..."**

"How could he do that?" Katie asked. "I mean, it's not like he's in the room with…"

"OH SWEET MERLIN!" Percy shouted. He'd figured it out.

**"Master, you are not strong enough!"**

**"I have strength enough... for this..."**

"Can we skip this?" Harry asked.

"Where's that Gryffindor bravery?" Hermione asked.

"In bed," Harry told her. "But I'm not a coward."

**Harry felt as if Devil's Snare was rooting him to the spot. He couldn't move a muscle. Petrified, he watched as Quirrell reached up and began to unwrap his turban. What was going on? The turban fell away. Quirrell's head looked strangely small without it. Then he turned slowly on the spot.**

**Harry would have screamed, but he couldn't make a sound. Where there should have been a back to Quirrell's head, there was a face, the most terrible face Harry had ever seen. It was chalk white with glaring red eyes and slits for nostrils, like a snake.**

"Oh my,' Katie gasped.

"That is just…" Alicia trailed off.

"SICK AND WRONG!" Fred and George yelled.

"Who would do that?" Cho asked.

**"Harry Potter..." it whispered.**

**Harry tried to take a step backward but his legs wouldn't move.**

**"See what I have become?"**

"Oliver!" Harry shouted.

"Yes?" he asked.

"Would you _stop_ doing that voice?" Harry shuddered. "You've no idea how actually close you are to a perfect impression."

"Oh," Oliver said and tried not to vomit. "Sorry."

**the face said. "Mere shadow and vapor ... I have form only when I can share another's body... but there have always been those willing to let me into their hearts and minds... Unicorn blood has strengthened me, these past weeks... you saw faithful Quirrell drinking it for me in the forest... and once I have the Elixir of Life, I will be able to create a body of my own... Now... why don't you give me that Stone in your pocket?"**

"How does he know that?" Oliver asked, a nervous undertone obvious in his voice.

**So he knew. The feeling suddenly surged back into Harry's legs. He stumbled backward.**

**"Don't be a fool," snarled the face. "Better save your own life and join me... or you'll meet the same end as your parents... They died begging me for mercy..."**

"How could anyone be so cruel?" Katie said softly.

"It's You-Know-Who," Lee told her.

**"LIAR!" Harry shouted suddenly.**

**Quirrell was walking backward at him, so that Voldemort could still see him. The evil face was now smiling.**

**"How touching..." it hissed. "I always value bravery...**

"And yet you killed anyone brave enough to stand against you," Cho glared at the book.

 **Yes, boy, your parents were brave... I killed your father first; and he put up a courageous fight...** **but your mother needn't have died... she was trying to protect you...** **Now give me the Stone, unless you want her to have died in vain."**

"Now that is too cruel for words," Alicia sniffed, due to the tears building up in her eyes. She understood that You-Know-Who was an evil monster but she didn't think he would just throw out that Harry's mother may not had to die.

**"NEVER!"**

"Tell that evil git Harry," Charlie muttered. He was scared out of his mind, but there was no need to let any one else know that. He glanced over at his youngest brother and thanked Merlin that Ron didn't have to see that.

 **Harry sprang toward the flame door, but Voldemort** **screamed "SEIZE HIM!" and the next second, Harry felt Quirrell's hand close on his wrist. At once, a needle-sharp pain seared across Harry's scar; his head felt as though it was about to split in two; he yelled, struggling with all his might, and to his surprise, Quirrell let go of him. The pain in his head lessened—he looked around wildly to see where Quirrell had gone, and saw him hunched in pain, looking at his fingers—they were blistering before his eyes.**

There was about a moment where every eye in the room was focused on Harry. No one knew that kind of power existed.

 **"Seize him! SEIZE HIM!" shrieked Voldemort** **again, and Quirrell lunged, knocking Harry clean off his feet, landing on top of him, both hands around Harry's neck—Harry's scar was almost blinding him with pain, yet he could see Quirrell howling in agony.**

**"Master, I cannot hold him—my hands—my hands!"**

**And Quirrell, though pinning Harry to the ground with his knees, let go of his neck and stared, bewildered, at his own palms—Harry could see they looked burned, raw, red, and shiny.**

"That's….odd." Alicia said after a few minutes.

**"Then kill him, fool, and be done!" screeched Voldemort.**

**Quirrell raised his hand to perform a deadly curse,** **but Harry, by instinct, reached up and grabbed Quirrell's face—**

"GO HARRY!" the twins shouted. Hermione didn't even bother yelling at them for yelling in her ear; she was that nervous.

**"AAAARGH!"**

**Quirrell rolled off him, his face blistering, too,**

"Whoa," Oliver gasped.

"That's power," Cho said faintly.

**and then Harry knew: Quirrell couldn't touch his bare skin, not without suffering terrible pain—his only chance was to keep hold of Quirrell, keep him in enough pain to stop him from doing a curse.**

**Harry jumped to his feet, caught Quirrell by the arm, and hung on as tight as he could. Quirrell screamed and tried to throw Harry off—the pain in Harry's head was building—he couldn't see—he could only hear Quirrell's terrible shrieks and Voldemort's** **yells of, "KILL HIM! KILL HIM!" and other voices, maybe in Harry's own head, crying, "Harry! Harry!"**

**He felt Quirrell's arm wrenched from his grasp, knew all was lost, and fell into blackness, down ... down... down...**

"NO!" the Gryffindors all shouted. Cho and Cedric were nervous as well, but Harry wasn't a member of their house. It would hurt more if he was.

**Something gold was glinting just above him. The Snitch!**

"If only," Oliver sighed. Everyone else had to chuckle.

**He tried to catch it, but his arms were too heavy.**

**He blinked. It wasn't the Snitch at all. It was a pair of glasses. How strange.**

**He blinked again. The smiling face of Albus Dumbledore swam into view above him.**

**"Good afternoon, Harry," said Dumbledore.**

**Harry stared at him. Then he remembered: "Sir! The Stone! It was Quirrell! He's got the Stone! Sir, quick—"**

**"Calm yourself, dear boy, you are a little behind the times," said Dumbledore. "Quirrell does not have the Stone."**

"Good!"

**"Then who does? Sir, I—"**

**"Harry, please relax, or Madam Pomfrey will have me thrown out."**

"I would pay to see that," Cedric chuckled.

**Harry swallowed and looked around him. He realized he must be in the hospital wing. He was lying in a bed with white linen sheets, and next to him was a table piled high with what looked like half the candy shop.**

**"Tokens from your friends and admirers," said Dumbledore, beaming. "What happened down in the dungeons between you and Professor Quirrell is a complete secret, so, naturally, the whole school knows. I believe your friends Misters Fred and George Weasley were responsible for trying to send you a toilet seat. No doubt they thought it would amuse you.**

"it was our way of—"

"—apologizing for being prats over the points." the twins explained.

**Madam Pomfrey, however, felt it might not be very hygienic, and confiscated it."**

"So you never got it," the twins looked down depressed.

"Didn't you promise Ginny one?" Ron asked.

"Yeah, but we're too afraid of what Mum might do if we actually sent that."

"Oh. Good choice."

**"How long have I been in here?"**

**"Three days. Mr. Ronald Weasley and Miss Granger will be most relieved you have come round, they have been extremely worried."**

**"But sir, the Stone—"**

" **I see you are not to be distracted. Very well, the Stone. Professor Quirrell did not manage to take it from you. I arrived in time to prevent that, although you were doing very well on your own, I must say."**

**"You got there? You got Hermione's owl?"**

**"We must have crossed in midair. No sooner had I reached London than it became clear to me that the place I should be was the one I had just left. I arrived just in time to pull Quirrell off you."**

"And how lucky it was that he came when he did," Katie nodded quickly.

**"It was** _**you** _ **."**

**"I feared I might be too late."**

**"You nearly were, I couldn't have kept him off the Stone much longer—"**

**"Not the Stone, boy, you—the effort involved nearly killed you."**

"Please don't do anything death defying this year," Oliver begged Harry.

" **For one terrible moment there, I was afraid it had.** **As for the Stone, it has been destroyed."**

**"Destroyed?" said Harry blankly. "But your friend—Nicolas Flamel—"**

**"Oh, you know about Nicolas?" said Dumbledore, sounding quite delighted. "You** _**did** _ **do the thing properly, didn't you? Well, Nicolas and I have had a little chat,**

"I think it would have been more than a little chat," Percy said.

**and agreed it's all for the best."**

**"But that means he and his wife will die, won't they?"**

**"They have enough Elixir stored to set their affairs in order and then, yes, they will die."**

**Dumbledore smiled at the look of amazement on Harry's face.**

**"To one as young as you, I'm sure it seems incredible, but to Nicolas and Perenelle, it really is like going to bed after a very,** _**very** _ **long day. After all, to the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure.**

"We'll keep that in mind when we're about to die," the twins said joking.

**You know, the Stone was really not such a wonderful thing. As much money and life as you could want! The two things most human beings would choose above all—the trouble is, humans do have a knack of choosing precisely those things that are worst for them."**

"So true," Bill shook his head.

**Harry lay there, lost for words. Dumbledore hummed a little and smiled at the ceiling.**

**"Sir?" said Harry. "I've been thinking... sir—even if the Stone's gone, Vol-, I mean, You-Know-Who—"**

**"Call him Voldemort,** **Harry. Always use the proper name for things. Fear of a name increases fear of the thing itself."**

 **"Yes, sir. Well, Voldemort's** **going to try other ways of coming back, isn't he? I mean, he hasn't gone, has he?"**

**"No, Harry, he has not. He is still out there somewhere, perhaps looking for another body to share... not being truly alive, he cannot be killed. He left Quirrell to die; he shows just as little mercy to his followers as his enemies. Nevertheless, Harry, while you may only have delayed his return to power, it will merely take someone else who is prepared to fight what seems a losing battle next time—and if he is delayed again, and again, why, he may never return to power."**

"Well then we have to make sure that happens," Cho said.

**Harry nodded, but stopped quickly, because it made his head hurt. Then he said, "Sir, there are some other things I'd like to know, if you can tell me... things I want to know the truth about..."**

**"The truth." Dumbledore sighed. "It is a beautiful and terrible thing, and should therefore be treated with great caution. However, I shall answer your questions unless I have a very good reason not to, in which case I beg you'll forgive me. I shall not, of course, lie."**

"Well points for honesty," Oliver said.

 **"Well... Voldemort** **said that he only killed my mother because she tried to stop him from killing me. But why would he want to kill me in the first place?"**

**Dumbledore sighed very deeply this time.**

**"Alas, the first thing you ask me, I cannot tell you. Not today. Not now. You will know, one day... put it from your mind for now, Harry. When you are older... I know you hate to hear this... when you are ready, you will know."**

"Well now we all want to know," Hermione pouted.

**And Harry knew it would be no good to argue.**

**"But why couldn't Quirrell touch me?"**

**"Your mother died to save you. If there is one thing Voldemort** **cannot understand, it is love. He didn't realize that love as powerful as your mother's for you leaves its own mark. Not a scar, no visible sign... to have been loved so deeply, even though the person who loved us is gone, will give us some protection forever. It is in your very skin. Quirrell, full of hatred, greed, and ambition, sharing his soul with Voldemort,could not touch you for this reason. It was agony to touch a person marked by something so good."**

"Did I mention you were awesome Harry?" George said. Katie whacked him over the head.

"Prat." she muttered.

**Dumbledore now became very interested in a bird out on the windowsill, which gave Harry time to dry his eyes on the sheet. When he had found his voice again, Harry said, "And the invisibility cloak—do you know who sent it to me?"**

**"Ah—your father happened to leave it in my possession,** **and I thought you might like it." Dumbledore's eyes twinkled. "Useful things... your father used it mainly for sneaking off to the kitchens to steal food when he was here."**

**"And there's something else..."**

**"Fire away."**

**"Quirrell said Snape—"**

**"** _**Professor** _ **Snape, Harry."**

**"Yes, him—**

Everyone laughed.

**Quirrell said he hates me because he hated my father. Is that true?"**

**"Well, they did rather detest each other. Not unlike yourself and Mr. Malfoy. And then, your father did something Snape could never forgive."**

**"What?"**

**"He saved his life."**

"What?" the twins and Oliver gasped.

**"** _**What?** _ **"**

**"Yes..." said Dumbledore dreamily. "Funny, the way people's minds work, isn't it? Professor Snape couldn't bear being in your father's debt... I do believe he worked so hard to protect you this year because he felt that would make him and your father even. Then he could go back to hating your father's memory in peace..."**

"That actually made sense," Alicia said.

**Harry tried to understand this but it made his head pound, so he stopped.**

**"And sir, there's one more thing..."**

**"Just the one?"**

**"How did I get the Stone out of the mirror?"**

**"Ah, now, I'm glad you asked me that. It was one of my more brilliant ideas, and between you and me, that's saying something.** **You see, only one who wanted to** _ **find**_ **the Stone—find it, but not use it—would be able to get it, otherwise they'd just see themselves making gold or drinking Elixir of Life. My brain surprises even me sometimes... Now, enough questions. I suggest you make a start on these sweets. Ah! Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans! I was unfortunate enough in my youth to come across a vomit-flavored one,**

"Yuck," Katie made a face.

**and since then I'm afraid I've rather lost my liking for them—but I think I'll be safe with a nice toffee, don't you?"**

"Not going to end up being toffee," Cho said as if she had experience in the matter.

**He smiled and popped the golden-brown bean into his mouth. Then he choked and said, "Alas! Ear wax!"**

"Not much luck with them, huh?" Cedric chuckled.

**Madam Pomfrey, the nurse, was a nice woman, but very strict.**

**"Just five minutes," Harry pleaded.**

**"Absolutely not."**

**"You let Professor Dumbledore in..."**

**"Well, of course, that was the headmaster, quite different. You need** _**rest** _ **."**

**"I am resting, look, lying down and everything. Oh, go on, Madam Pomfrey..."**

**"Oh, very well," she said. "But five minutes** _**only** _ **."**

"You..she…what?" Charlie gasped again.

"He was injured a lot in Quidditch," Bill explained. "She wouldn't let any one come to see him."

**And she let Ron and Hermione in.**

**"** _**Harry!** _ **"**

**Hermione looked ready to fling her arms around him again, but Harry was glad she held herself in as his head was still very sore.**

**"Oh, Harry, we were sure you were going to—Dumbledore was so worried—"**

**"The whole school's talking about it,"**

"The rumors were actually tamer than the truth," Fred said with a weak chuckle.

**said Ron. "What really happened?"**

**It was one of those rare occasions when the true story is even more strange and exciting than the wild rumors. Harry told them everything: Quirrell; the mirror; the Stone; and Voldemort.** **Ron and Hermione were a very good audience; they gasped in all the right places, and when Harry told them what was under Quirrell's turban, Hermione screamed out loud.**

"It wasn't as detailed as this one was though," Hermione said with a shudder.

**"So the Stone's gone?" said Ron finally. "Flamel's just going to** _**die** _ **?"**

**"That's what I said, but Dumbledore thinks that—what was it?—'to the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure."**

**"I always said he was off his rocker," said Ron, looking quite impressed at how crazy his hero was.**

"Ron!" Percy said. The other Weasley boys just laughed.

**"So what happened to you two?" said Harry.**

**"Well, I got back all right," said Hermione. "I brought Ron round—that took a while—and we were dashing up to the owlery to contact Dumbledore when we met him in the entrance hall—he already knew—he just said, 'Harry's gone after him, hasn't he?' and hurtled off to the third floor."**

**"D'you think he meant you to do it?" said Ron. "Sending you your father's cloak and everything?"**

**"** _**Well** _ **, " Hermione exploded, "if he did—I mean to say that's terrible—you could have been killed."**

"Good point Hermione," Cho said in a huff.

 **"No, it isn't," said Harry thoughtfully. "He's a funny man, Dumbledore. I think he sort of wanted to give me a chance.** **I think he knows more or less everything that goes on here, you know. I reckon he had a pretty good idea we were going to try, and instead of stopping us, he just taught us enough to help. I don't think it was an accident he let me find out how the mirror worked. It's almost like he thought I had the right to face Voldemort** **if I could..."**

**"Yeah, Dumbledore's off his rocker, all right," said Ron proudly. "Listen, you've got to be up for the end-of-year feast tomorrow. The points are all in and Slytherin won, of course—you missed the last Quidditch match, we were steamrollered by Ravenclaw without you—but the food'll be good."**

"What was the score?" Harry asked. Oliver winced.

"400—"

"—to 40," the twins said in a whisper. Harry paled and swore that he'd make sure to play in every match this season.

**At that moment, Madam Pomfrey bustled over.**

**"You've had nearly fifteen minutes, now OUT," she said firmly.**

"Whoa, you managed to make her forget about the five minute rule," Charlie gasped.

**After a good night's sleep, Harry felt nearly back to normal.**

" **I want to go to the feast," he told Madam Pomfrey as she straightened his many candy boxes. "I can, can't I?"**

**"Professor Dumbledore says you are to be allowed to go," she said sniffily, as though in her opinion Professor Dumbledore didn't realize how risky feasts could be. "And you have another visitor."**

**"Oh, good," said Harry. "Who is it?"**

**Hagrid sidled through the door as he spoke. As usual when he was indoors, Hagrid looked too big to be allowed. He sat down next to Harry, took one look at him, and burst into tears.**

"Aww," Cho and Katie cooed.

**"It's—all—my—ruddy—fault!" he sobbed, his face in his hands. "I told the evil git how ter get past Fluffy! I told him! It was the only thing he didn't know, an' I told him! Yeh could've died! All fer a dragon egg! I'll never drink again!**

"Good idea," Angelina nodded.

**I should be chucked out an' made ter live as a Muggle!"**

"He'd be miserable," Hermione said with a sad smile. "Muggles don't have as many interesting creatures, as Hagrid likes to call them."

 **"Hagrid!" said Harry, shocked to see Hagrid shaking with grief and remorse, great tears leaking down into his beard. "Hagrid, he'd have found out somehow, this is Voldemort** **we're talking about, he'd have found out even if you hadn't told him."**

**"Yeh could've died!" sobbed Hagrid. "An' don' say the name!"**

**"VOLDEMORT!"** **Harry bellowed, and Hagrid was so shocked, he stopped crying.**

Everyone else was so shocked they forgot to flinch.

**"I've met him and I'm calling him by his name. Please cheer up, Hagrid, we saved the Stone, it's gone, he can't use it. Have a Chocolate Frog, I've got loads..."**

**Hagrid wiped his nose on the back of his hand and said, "That reminds me. I've got yeh a present."**

**"It's not a stoat sandwich, is it?" said Harry anxiously, and at last Hagrid gave a weak chuckle.**

**"Nah. Dumbledore gave me the day off yesterday ter fix it. 'Course, he shoulda sacked me instead**

"Dumbledore would only fire a teacher if they murdered someone under his nose," Cho said. "He loves second chances."

— **anyway, got yeh this..."**

**It seemed to be a handsome, leather-covered book. Harry opened it curiously. It was full of wizard photographs. Smiling and waving at him from every page were his mother and father.**

"That is a nice present," Neville told him.

**"Sent owls off ter all yer parents' old school friends, askin' fer photos... knew yeh didn' have any... d'yeh like it?"**

**Harry couldn't speak, but Hagrid understood.**

**Harry made his way down to the end-of-year feast alone that night. He had been held up by Madam Pomfrey's fussing about, insisting on giving him one last checkup, so the Great Hall was already full. It was decked out in the Slytherin colors of green and silver to celebrate Slytherin's winning the house cup for the seventh year in a row.**

**A huge banner showing the Slytherin serpent covered the wall behind the High Table.**

"Can we be sick now?" The twins and Lee asked.

**When Harry walked in there was a sudden hush, and then everybody started talking loudly at once. He slipped into a seat between Ron and Hermione at the Gryffindor table and tried to ignore the fact that people were standing up to look at him.**

**Fortunately, Dumbledore arrived moments later. The babble died away.**

**"Another year gone!" Dumbledore said cheerfully. "And I must trouble you with an old man's wheezing waffle** **before we sink our teeth into our delicious feast. What a year it has been! Hopefully your heads are all a little fuller than they were... you have the whole summer ahead to get them nice and empty before next year starts...**

"Only Dumbledore," Cedric chuckled.

 **"Now, as I understand it, the house cup here needs awarding, and the points stand thus: In fourth place, Gryffindor, with three hundred and twelve points;** **in third, Hufflepuff, with three hundred and fifty-two; Ravenclaw has four hundred and twenty-six and Slytherin, four hundred and seventy-two."**

**A storm of cheering and stamping broke out from the Slytherin table. Harry could see Draco Malfoy banging his goblet on the table. It was a sickening sight.**

"I don't doubt it," Fred shuddered.

**"Yes, yes, well done, Slytherin," said Dumbledore. "However, recent events must be taken into account."**

"As they should be," Alicia nodded.

**The room went very still. The Slytherins' smiles faded a little.**

"Good!"

**"Ahem," said Dumbledore. "I have a few last-minute points to dish out. Let me see. Yes...**

**"First—to Mr. Ronald Weasley..."**

**Ron went purple in the face; he looked like a radish with a bad sunburn.**

"MATE!" Ron groaned.

**"...for the best-played game of chess Hogwarts has seen in many years, I award Gryffindor house fifty points."**

"I love the way Dumbledore words things," Katie smiled.

**Gryffindor cheers nearly raised the bewitched ceiling; the stars overhead seemed to quiver. Percy could be heard telling the other prefects, "My brother, you know! My youngest brother! Got past McGonagall's giant chess set!"**

Ron's ears turned red as Oliver read Percy's praise.

"It was an amazing feat," Percy told him.

**At last there was silence again.**

**"Second—to Miss Hermione Granger... for the use of cool logic in the face of fire, I award Gryffindor house fifty points."**

"Good job Hermione," Cho congratulated the younger girl.

"This already happened." Hermione said.

**Hermione buried her face in her arms; Harry strongly suspected she had burst into tears. Gryffindors up and down the table were beside themselves—they were a hundred points up.**

**"Third—to Mr. Harry Potter..." said Dumbledore. The room went deadly quiet, "for pure nerve and outstanding courage, I award Gryffindor house sixty points."**

"I loved getting those," Harry sighed. "I think it made up for the whole dragon fiasco."

**The din was deafening. Those who could add up while yelling themselves hoarse knew that Gryffindor now had four hundred and seventy-two points—exactly the same as Slytherin. They had tied for the house cup—if only Dumbledore had given Harry just one more point.**

"But how did you win?" Bill asked. He'd heard the story of how four first years won the cup back for Gryffindor but the details were hazy.

**Dumbledore raised his hand. The room gradually fell silent.**

**"There are all kinds of courage," said Dumbledore, smiling. "It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to our enemies, but just as much to stand up to our friends. I therefore award ten points to Mr. Neville Longbottom."**

"Go Neville!" the twins cheered.

**Someone standing outside the Great Hall might well have thought some sort of explosion had taken place, so loud was the noise that erupted from the Gryffindor table. Harry, Ron, and Hermione stood up to yell and cheer as Neville, white with shock, disappeared under a pile of people hugging him. He had never won so much as a point for Gryffindor before. Harry, still cheering, nudged Ron in the ribs and pointed at Malfoy, who couldn't have looked more stunned and horrified if he'd just had the Body-Bind Curse put on him.**

Everyone burst out in peals of laughter.

**"Which means," Dumbledore called over the storm of applause, for even Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff were celebrating the downfall of Slytherin, "we need a little change of decoration."**

**He clapped his hands. In an instant, the green hangings became scarlet and the silver became gold; the huge Slytherin serpent vanished and a towering Gryffindor lion took its place. Snape was shaking Professor McGonagall's hand, with a horrible, forced smile. He caught Harry's eye and Harry knew at once that Snape's feelings toward him hadn't changed one jot.**

"Nope, probably not." Charlie said shaking his head.

**This didn't worry Harry. It seemed as though life would be back to normal next year, or as normal as it ever was at Hogwarts.**

**It was the best evening of Harry's life, better than winning at Quidditch, or Christmas, or knocking out mountain trolls... he would never, ever forget tonight.**

**Harry had almost forgotten that the exam results were still to come, but come they did. To their great surprise, both he and Ron passed with good marks; Hermione, of course, had the best grades of the first years.**

"That surprised no one," Neville said to a blushing Hermione.

**Even Neville scraped through, his good Herbology mark making up for his abysmal Potions one. They had hoped that Goyle, who was almost as stupid as he was mean, might be thrown out, but he had passed, too. It was a shame, but as Ron said, you couldn't have everything in life.**

**And suddenly, their wardrobes were empty, their trunks were packed, Neville's toad was found lurking in a corner of the toilets;** **notes were handed out to all students, warning them not to use magic over the holidays ("I always hope they'll forget to give us these," said Fred Weasley sadly);**

"And they never will forget," Bill chuckled. "I wished the exact same thing when I was your age," he told Fred.

**Hagrid was there to take them down to the fleet of boats that sailed across the lake; they were boarding the Hogwarts Express; talking and laughing as the countryside became greener and tidier; eating Bettie Bott's Every Flavor Beans as they sped past Muggle towns; pulling off their wizard robes and putting on jackets and coats; pulling into platform nine and three-quarters at King's Cross Station.**

**It took quite a while for them all to get off the platform. A wizened old guard** **was up by the ticket barrier, letting them go through the gate in twos and threes so they didn't attract attention by all bursting out of a solid wall at once and alarming the Muggles.**

"We should do that sometime," Fred chuckled.

"Dad would probably lose his job," Percy pointed out before George could answer.

**"You must come and stay this summer," said Ron, "both of you—I'll send you an owl."**

**"Thanks," said Harry, "I'll need something to look forward to."**

The Weasleys beamed that Harry had looked forward to coming over to their place.

**People jostled them as they moved forward toward the gateway back to the Muggle world. Some of them called:**

**"Bye, Harry!"**

**"See you, Potter!"**

**"Still famous," said Ron, grinning at him.**

**"Not where I'm going, I promise you," said Harry.**

"You had to remind us?" the twins moaned.

**He, Ron, and Hermione passed through the gateway together.**

**"There he is, Mom, there he is, look!"**

**It was Ginny Weasley, Ron's younger sister, but she wasn't pointing at Ron.**

**"Harry Potter!" she squealed. "Look, Mom! I can see— "**

Bill and Charlie chuckled at their little sister's antics. It had been a while since they saw her and couldn't believe she'd grown up so fast.

**"Be quiet, Ginny, and it's rude to point."**

**Mrs. Weasley smiled down at them.**

**"Busy year?" she said.**

**"Very," said Harry. "Thanks for the fudge and the sweater, Mrs. Weasley."**

**"Oh, it was nothing, dear."**

**"Ready, are you?"**

**It was Uncle Vernon,**

"Drat, he's back." Oliver groaned. Bill, Charlie, Lee, Neville, and Percy were a little confused to say the least.

**still purple-faced, still mustached, still looking furious at the nerve of Harry, carrying an owl in a cage in a station full of ordinary people.**

**Behind him stood Aunt Petunia and Dudley, looking terrified at the very sight of Harry.**

**"You must be Harry's family!" said Mrs. Weasley.**

"Regrettably," Harry muttered.

**"In a manner of speaking," said Uncle Vernon. "Hurry up, boy, we haven't got all day."**

The five who showed up later in the reading were shocked that Harry had to live with someone so unpleasant.

**He walked away.**

**Harry hung back for a last word with Ron and Hermione.**

**"See you over the summer, then."**

**"Hope you have—er—a good holiday," said Hermione, looking uncertainly after Uncle Vernon, shocked that anyone could be so unpleasant.**

**"Oh, I will," said Harry, and they were surprised at the grin that was spreading over his face. "** _**They** _ **don't know we're not allowed to use magic at home. I'm going to have a lot of fun with Dudley this summer..."**

"That's the end of the chapter," Oliver said, "and the end of the book."

"Well," Fred said. "That was an eventful year. Please tell me that the next book won't be as bad."

"We can't until we read it," Hermione told him. "It's currently our second year."

Bill locked eyes with Charlie and gestured over to Ron. Getting the hint, Charlie did the same thing with Percy and the twins.

"If you guys don't mind," Bill said as they left the room, "we Weasleys have some catching up to do. Ron, come on."

Ron, who wasn't as clueless as many would think, slowly got up and walked out the door. He really didn't want to talk about anything right now. As they walked into the over used Captain's office, Bill shut the door. It was time for the Weasley meeting to begin.


	18. Chapter 18

Ron sat down between Percy and Charlie; seeing as the twins tried many a time to squeeze him to death during the reading, he thought it'd be safer to sit across from them. Bill sat down opposite him. Ron wondered what this meeting was about.

"Ron," Bill began and stopped. He wasn't prepared to deal with a brother with an inferiority complex, especially one who was so much younger than him.

"Why didn't you tell us how you felt?" Fred beat Bill to the question. But then, to Bill, it wasn't surprising. Despite having a twin, Fred was as close to Ron as he was to George. If it hadn't been for the age difference, Bill might have thought Fred and Ron were the twins.

"Oh, sure. That would have gone over well," Ron muttered but it was still loud enough to be heard.

"What do you mean?" George asked.

Ron rolled his eyes. "I mean, would you have even listened?"

"Of course we would have," Bill said in shock. Did they really present the aura of being too aloof for their baby brother?

"Bill, you and Charlie are not even in the country. Percy, you're a prefect and the twins are jokesters. It doesn't even matter what I do, it always seems like you've done it first." Ron said, drawing one leg up onto his chair so his arms were around his knee.

"Well, look what you've done." Fred said with a smile. "I don't think any one of us went up against a fully grown mountain troll at age eleven."

"Or helped save the Sorcerer's stone," George added, smiling at his little brother. "I don't think any of us have done that."

"I don't know a single soul who's survived a bite from a Ridgeback," Charlie told him.

"And don't forget your awesome chess skills," Percy piped in. "From what I heard, you were playing McGonagall in that game, and she holds the Hogwarts record for most chess games won."

Ron seemed to lighten up with each word spoken, but Bill could see a glimmer of doubt in his youngest brother's eyes. It seemed as if Ron thought they were just saying those things to ease their uneasy feelings.

"Ron, come on! You're amazing at chess, and you're a brilliant keeper when we play pick up games." Fred said, slightly tired of how Ron was still unbelieving of their words. "You've done things that we've only dreamed of. You've broken more rules than me and George combined. What more do you need to hear before you realize that you're just as important as any other member of this family?"

Ron was silent for a few minutes. Fred was afraid that his past pranks on his brother might taint his words against him. Unfortunately, it wasn't as if he could apologize for it with his brothers in the room. Bill and Charlie were in school already and Percy had gone into work with their dad. It'd been take your child to work day—except the twins were too rambunctious and Ron was too young to go.

 _It's not just the spider prank you have to answer for,_ Fred realized. The acid pop prank, the almost Unforgivable vow. All of those were his doing. Not him and George. Just him. Just Fred. Maybe George had been with him for a few of those pranks but not for the spider one. No. That one was pure Fred.

"Ron," Percy's voice broke the void of silence that had filled the room while Fred was lost in thought. "Say something."

Ron had been staring at his knee the entire time. No one could be sure what was going through his head. Fred had thought that he and George had covered Ron's doubts when they had their meeting earlier. He was wrong.

Charlie wondered how no one was able to notice Ron's inferiority complex. The minute mum knew about it, he would have had a floo call in two seconds ordering him to come back home for a family meeting.

"I just don't want to feel invisible anymore," Ron said softly to his knee. "Mum's always talking about Bill or Charlie or Percy. I guess I'm just tired of feeling overlooked."

Bill and Percy looked at each other. Somehow, they'd all been able to hear that. Mum did tend to talk about their accomplishments, but Bill didn't know it affected how his younger siblings felt. He was spending too much time in Egypt; so much time that he was loosing a connection he'd made with all his siblings.

"Hey," Charlie said getting down on one knee, "just because Mum doesn't go on and on about your accomplishments doesn't mean she's not proud. Did you know that I got a five page owl this July all about how you made fifth in your class?"

"Really?" Ron brought his head up.

"Really, welshie." Charlie said, using the old nickname he'd made for Ron when Ron was five. Back then, Ron reminded him of a Welsh Greenback: all calm at times but a temper to rival the worse dragons. "Errol had to stay at my camp site for two weeks to recover from the journey."

"The few wizard coworkers I have constantly get letters from home talking about the one kid in Gryffindor who kills everyone in chess." Bill said ruffling Ron's hair. "Is it true that you've managed to clear out your common room when you come down with a chess set?"

"Yeah," Ron nodded. "Only Harry and Hermione ever want to play any more."

Everyone chuckled at that. It seemed to be the thing to help Ron eliminate his inferiority complex. Bill swore right then and there, as he was standing with his siblings, to try to come home more often. He could see the same promise in Charlie's eyes.

"You understand what we're saying?" Percy asked. Ron nodded but everyone doubted that he understood.

"Really Ron?" Fred asked. "Are you sure?"

"I understand Fred. I need to focus on what I'm good at and not what you've done. That's what you're getting at, right?"

"Pretty much," George chuckled. Bill knew that they would have to have another chat soon—with their Mum and Dad—but this was the best they could do with out wasting everyone else's time.

"Come one then," Fred said. "We've got a book to read."

"You sure you're really Fred?" Ron asked with a smirk on his face. "Sure you're not Percy in disguise?"

Fred chuckled and ruffled Ron's hair some more. "You're alright kid," he said. They all went out and sat back down in the circle. Fred and George sat next to Ron, who sat next to Harry (basically it was Hermione, Harry, Ron, Fred, George.). Bill and Charlie sat on the other side, and Percy sat next to Oliver.

It was time to start the second book.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys, this story had originally been on FF.net but was removed back in 2012. I figured, now that I had an Ao3 account, I'd get around to putting it up on here along with the sequels.


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